STATEMENT BY THE PRIVATISATION UNIT

Reference is being made to the Press reports where the General Secretary of the UHM is reported to have said that the Union had "learned that the Government was negotiating the privatisation of the Lotto Department without the Lotto Receivers' Union knowledge".

The Privatisation Unit would like to state that together with its advisors it held three meetings on this particular privatisation with the Lotto Receivers' Union, one under the auspices of CMTU and another one hosted by UHM and one through its advisors. Conscious of this development, the Lotto Receivers' Union set up a co-operative to participate in the bidding process. The Unit also held a meeting with the representatives of this cooperative.