Mom and brother got the good news first as Potch man bags R8.9m jackpot
Ithuba, the operator of the national lottery, announced that the winner has come forward to claim the prize.
He said he had kept his ticket in his wardrobe.
'I was very excited when I found out I had won. I've always held onto the hope that one day I would become a millionaire,' he said.
The man bagged a total of R8,952,821.60 in the lotto draw on Saturday with a ticket purchased at a store in Potchefstroom, North West, with an R80 wager. He manually selected his numbers.
The winner shared that he found out about his life-changing win when he checked the winning numbers online.
'The first people I shared the news with were my mother and brother, and now I plan on buying a house as soon as possible,' he said.
The employed winner enjoys playing soccer in his free time, and he's excited that his winnings will allow him to pursue his passions without financial constraints.
Ithuba CEO Charmaine Mabuza congratulated the winner.
'We extend our heartfelt congratulations to the lucky winner! We're excited to empower him with the financial knowledge and tools necessary to help him turn this windfall into a lasting legacy for himself and his loved ones,' said Mabuza.
Ithuba offers winners of R50,000 and more a complimentary counselling and financial advice.
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The Star
8 hours ago
- The Star
GLB commission of inquiry into corruption is just for show, while solutions are readily available
Mike Moriarty | Published 56 minutes ago The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng is not fooled by the Committee of Inquiry set up by the Gauteng MEC for Economic Development, Lebogang Maile, into the affairs of the Gauteng Liquor Board (GLB). Maile established this committee to obscure evident corruption that has escalated within the GLB for many years. The sins of the GLB are obvious, and the solution is readily available. GLB's incompetence can be addressed through retooling its business processes. Its corruption can be purged through forensic investigation and ruthless prosecution of those guilty. On Sunday, 15 June 2025, MEC Maile announced the appointment of a 15-member committee of inquiry to investigate the affairs of the Gauteng Liquor Board (GLB). This committee has been tasked with probing allegations of corruption, bribery, and the long processing times for liquor licenses within the board. He also announced the dismissal of five GLB personnel. However, it is understood that these dismissals took place long before the announcement was made. In truth, the GLB is a small portion of what the Gauteng Provincial Government does. Its budget of R80 million is tiny compared to the overall budget of R1.6 billion in Maile's Department of Economic Development. This represents 5% of the department and is a minuscule portion, 0.046%, of the total provincial budget. Maile's actions are like trying to fasten a button with a sledgehammer. These committees are expensive, and previous ones have taken an unreasonably long time to achieve anything. Just like Makhura's e-tolls committee, and the committee that was headed by Trevor Fowler to look into the state of municipalities. These inquiries have a tendency of essentially achieve nothing at all. This committee is likely to take 10 months to do its work at an estimated cost of R6 million. If the solution is so simple, why has Maile set up this committee? He is merely trying to have the appearance of acting decisively. The MEC's move is fatally flawed for four reasons: Firstly, during the length of time it takes to do its work, the stealing within GLB will continue. Secondly, the exercise will cost a lot of money. Thirdly, the committee will be buried in an avalanche of complaints, allegations, and documents, while the real nuggets are hidden. Perhaps this is what Maile wants. Not all the perpetrators are his enemies. Any friends that he exposes could turn on him and his allies. Finally, the eventual report will cover so much ground that the real priorities will be difficult to identify. No sooner had the committee been identified than allegations emerged that various committee members are tainted in one way or another. One may validly query whether it is wise to appoint previous employees of the GLB, such as Mpho Mosing and Jennifer Rankeng. Fhedzisani Pandelani was a previous board chairperson. Ms Nalini Maharaj is a board member at the Gauteng Gambling Board (GGB), which is now also under scrutiny. If members of the committee were part of the problem, can they be part of the solution? But Maile already has information on the failings of the GLB. He has received adequate correspondence, a series of court actions, responded to various questions in the House, and hosted meetings where complainants and staff tabled grievances. Is he unable to comprehend the issues with the information he has? When the committee does get down to business, it will inevitably conclude the following: The application process is far from transparent. The much-vaunted online system is useless and costly. Once an application has been made on the system, the entire process thereafter is a manual one. The administration of the GLB is poorly managed. The process from beginning to end should take no longer than three months. However, most applications take longer than six months, while some have been outstanding for years. No one knows the actual size of the backlog. The board says one thing. The administration says another, and the applicants will tell you the full story. Objectors will advise that the Board does not make it easy to remain vigilant against undesirable liquor outlets. The GLB has a habit of bringing in arbitrary and unannounced changes. The GLB has been taken to court more often and has lost almost all the cases. The policy and legislation are overdue for review as they currently have major loopholes, permit unnecessary obstructions, and create a huge opportunity for bribery. as they currently have major loopholes, permit unnecessary obstructions, and create a huge opportunity for bribery. Restaurants get licenses, and the owners then sell to others who convert the restaurant into a place of entertainment. These become incredible nuisances. The GLB website is a joke. Other provinces have websites that are far more informative about applications in process, hearing dates, and approved licenses. When the committee finalises its report, it will recommend the following actions: Forensic investigations should be conducted in various areas of the GLB's operations and the transactions that arose from these in the past seven years. The recommendations of the investigators should be implemented. Management and various members of the board should be replaced. Business process analysts should be brought in to recommend changes. There should be immediate changes to the tracking and reporting of GLB work, and these reports should be available publicly in a suitably summarised form. IT experts should be asked to make recommendations to overhaul the GLB website and the online system. Various policy amendments should be effected and implemented. Legislative processes should be initiated to amend the Gauteng Liquor Act and its regulations. The irony is that all of the above can be kick-started with immediate effect. If this were done, 10 months and R6 million could be saved. There is no logical reason to appoint this committee. Consequence management doesn't happen often enough. Apart from Maile's need to be seen to be taking action, the only explanation that makes sense is that various connected people, currently profiting from a corrupted system, will be shielded. Mike Moriarty MPL, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Economic Development
IOL News
9 hours ago
- IOL News
GLB commission of inquiry into corruption is just for show, while solutions are readily available
The sins of the Gauteng Liquor Board (GLB) are obvious, and the solution is readily available, says the writer. Image: Supplied The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng is not fooled by the Committee of Inquiry set up by the Gauteng MEC for Economic Development, Lebogang Maile, into the affairs of the Gauteng Liquor Board (GLB). Maile established this committee to obscure evident corruption that has escalated within the GLB for many years. The sins of the GLB are obvious, and the solution is readily available. GLB's incompetence can be addressed through retooling its business processes. Its corruption can be purged through forensic investigation and ruthless prosecution of those guilty. On Sunday, 15 June 2025, MEC Maile announced the appointment of a 15-member committee of inquiry to investigate the affairs of the Gauteng Liquor Board (GLB). This committee has been tasked with probing allegations of corruption, bribery, and the long processing times for liquor licenses within the board. He also announced the dismissal of five GLB personnel. However, it is understood that these dismissals took place long before the announcement was made. In truth, the GLB is a small portion of what the Gauteng Provincial Government does. Its budget of R80 million is tiny compared to the overall budget of R1.6 billion in Maile's Department of Economic Development. This represents 5% of the department and is a minuscule portion, 0.046%, of the total provincial budget. Maile's actions are like trying to fasten a button with a sledgehammer. These committees are expensive, and previous ones have taken an unreasonably long time to achieve anything. Just like Makhura's e-tolls committee, and the committee that was headed by Trevor Fowler to look into the state of municipalities. These inquiries have a tendency of essentially achieve nothing at all. This committee is likely to take 10 months to do its work at an estimated cost of R6 million. If the solution is so simple, why has Maile set up this committee? He is merely trying to have the appearance of acting decisively. The MEC's move is fatally flawed for four reasons: Firstly, during the length of time it takes to do its work, the stealing within GLB will continue. Secondly, the exercise will cost a lot of money. Thirdly, the committee will be buried in an avalanche of complaints, allegations, and documents, while the real nuggets are hidden. Perhaps this is what Maile wants. Not all the perpetrators are his enemies. Any friends that he exposes could turn on him and his allies. Finally, the eventual report will cover so much ground that the real priorities will be difficult to identify. No sooner had the committee been identified than allegations emerged that various committee members are tainted in one way or another. One may validly query whether it is wise to appoint previous employees of the GLB, such as Mpho Mosing and Jennifer Rankeng. Fhedzisani Pandelani was a previous board chairperson. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Ms Nalini Maharaj is a board member at the Gauteng Gambling Board (GGB), which is now also under scrutiny. If members of the committee were part of the problem, can they be part of the solution? But Maile already has information on the failings of the GLB. He has received adequate correspondence, a series of court actions, responded to various questions in the House, and hosted meetings where complainants and staff tabled grievances. Is he unable to comprehend the issues with the information he has? When the committee does get down to business, it will inevitably conclude the following: The application process is far from transparent. The much-vaunted online system is useless and costly. Once an application has been made on the system, the entire process thereafter is a manual one. The administration of the GLB is poorly managed. The process from beginning to end should take no longer than three months. However, most applications take longer than six months, while some have been outstanding for years. No one knows the actual size of the backlog. The board says one thing. The administration says another, and the applicants will tell you the full story. Objectors will advise that the Board does not make it easy to remain vigilant against undesirable liquor outlets. The GLB has a habit of bringing in arbitrary and unannounced changes. The GLB has been taken to court more often and has lost almost all the cases. The policy and legislation are overdue for review as they currently have major loopholes, permit unnecessary obstructions, and create a huge opportunity for bribery. as they currently have major loopholes, permit unnecessary obstructions, and create a huge opportunity for bribery. Restaurants get licenses, and the owners then sell to others who convert the restaurant into a place of entertainment. These become incredible nuisances. The GLB website is a joke. Other provinces have websites that are far more informative about applications in process, hearing dates, and approved licenses. When the committee finalises its report, it will recommend the following actions: Forensic investigations should be conducted in various areas of the GLB's operations and the transactions that arose from these in the past seven years. The recommendations of the investigators should be implemented. Management and various members of the board should be replaced. Business process analysts should be brought in to recommend changes. There should be immediate changes to the tracking and reporting of GLB work, and these reports should be available publicly in a suitably summarised form. IT experts should be asked to make recommendations to overhaul the GLB website and the online system. Various policy amendments should be effected and implemented. Legislative processes should be initiated to amend the Gauteng Liquor Act and its regulations. The irony is that all of the above can be kick-started with immediate effect. If this were done, 10 months and R6 million could be saved. There is no logical reason to appoint this committee. Consequence management doesn't happen often enough. Apart from Maile's need to be seen to be taking action, the only explanation that makes sense is that various connected people, currently profiting from a corrupted system, will be shielded. Mike Moriarty MPL, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Economic Development
TimesLIVE
2 days ago
- TimesLIVE
Creecy approaches banks to seek easier debt repayment deals for taxi industry
The transport department says it has approached banks and Toyota to request easier repayment options for taxi owners on their vehicle loans to curb violence over routes. This was revealed by minister Barbara Creecy on Thursday, who said the root cause of taxi violence was indebted taxi operators who wanted to pocket more money by taking over routes illegally. She said the taxi industry was struggling to be profitable. 'An operator will make R15,000 to R16,000 a month on an average route. Of course there are more profitable routes. You are earning R16,000 but you have a liability of R28,000, so the question is how do you fill the hole. And that is where the problem begins because you would want to operate on what you regard as a more profitable route,' she said. Creecy said some operators have resorted to moonlighting as scholar transport operators to close the financial gap. Her department was working with Toyota and the banks to find a way to de-risk the loans, she said. 'I am not saying these financial practices justify irregular practices — they don't. But I am saying that what we have undertaken is to look at de-risking the loans.' The industry has been marred by violence recently, with shootings and killings in Katlehong, Soweto and Mpumalanga where even buses have been torched. In the latest incident, Sowetan sister publication TimesLIVE reported that Western Cape detectives were investigating four murders and three attempted murders after a shooting at a taxi rank in Mfuleni last month.
