Betrayal in the Name of Charity: The NLA Scandal Exposed
The NLA Scandal: Good Causes or Misplaced Priorities? When Parliament passed Act 722, it was not just another law. It was a promise. The National Lottery Authority was told to set aside part of its proceeds for the people who need it most, the aged, the needy, the orphans, and the destitute. For once, chance was meant to serve compassion. But what do we see today? Under the so-called NLA Good Causes Foundation, that covenant has been broken, repackaged, and sold as prestige for the privileged.
The Fourth Estate uncovered the evidence. Instead of the poor, millions of cedis found their way into corporate ballrooms and glossy awards nights. EMY Africa Awards took GHS 90,000. Ghana CEO Awards walked away with GHS 350,000. Gabby Otchere-Darko’s Africa Prosperity Network Awards received GHS 250,000. Ghana Club 100 Awards got GHS 200,000. Glitz Women of the Year was gifted GHS 80,000. Even Asamoah Gyan, a man who already lives in a USD 3 million mansion, had his memoir padded with GHS 50,000. Meanwhile, psychiatric hospitals overflowed with neglect and orphanages stretched out their hands for scraps. The very people the law was written for were handed GHS 5,000 and GHS 7,000 crumbs.
And this is where the Ghanaian truth bites. Nipa yɛ cutlery set. People are treated like cutlery, polished when needed, used to serve a purpose, then packed away. When elections are near, suddenly we matter. Once power is secured, the cutlery is boxed up again until the next banquet of votes.
The trail stretched further. The Fourth Estate also reported that half a million cedis was spent on an astroturf in Bantama, that police stations were funded in areas later contested by Samuel Awuku (now MP for Akuapem North and formerly NLA Director-General). The Chief of Staff’s Office collected GHS 350,000 for Independence Day fanfare. MPs across both parties walked away with over a million cedis for their pet causes. The Attorney General’s office itself collected GHS 570,000 for conferences. Entertainment was not left out. Accra Hearts of Oak got GHS 250,000, Empire Protocol was given GHS 100,000 for “Accra in Paris,” and Black Avenue Muzik enjoyed GHS 80,000 for its “Tropical Fiesta.” All this while orphans queued for food and psychiatric wards begged for beds.
When pressed, Mr. Awuku defended the spending as a marketing strategy. But marketing does not clothe a child. Awards do not heal the sick. Prestige projects do not feed the hungry. His casual admission that much of the NLA’s work would be illegal if the law were followed strictly was not a defence. It was a confession.
Think about it. The Attorney General’s office, meant to uphold the law, received more than half a million cedis from the NLA’s Good Causes Foundation for conferences. Under its former leadership, that same office now faces accusations of twisting justice. Former Attorney General Godfred Dame is the subject of a petition at the CID, after Richard Jakpa, now Director of Special Operations at National Security, alleged that he tried to persuade him to falsify evidence in the Republic v. Ato Forson and Jakpa trial. A leaked audio, admitted in court, seemed to capture Dame urging Jakpa to implicate Dr. Forson. If the guardians of justice can be accused of bending it, is it any surprise that money for the vulnerable ended up funding award nights?
It is all one pattern. Institutions created to serve citizens end up serving the well-connected. The citizen becomes the utensil again, useful only when votes must be gathered or when public funds need justification. We are dusted off when elections arrive, promised a seat at the table, then packed away when the feast is done. We defend parties that will not defend us, fight neighbours over slogans, and bleed for colours that will not bleed for us.
The NLA Good Causes Foundation was supposed to remind us of compassion. Instead, it has become another symbol of betrayal. Respectfully, this is not charity. It is misplaced priorities, dressed in benevolence. And until we demand better, we will remain the cutlery in the kitchen of power, brought out for show, wiped clean of dignity, and put away in silence.
Credit - Kay Codjoe
