The ruling by a Pretoria high court judge this week that the awarding of a Lotto contract to a consortium, top-heavy with ANC bigwigs, should be a lesson to government ministers.

The ruling by a Pretoria high court judge this week that the awarding of a Lotto contract to a consortium, top-heavy with ANC bigwigs, should be a lesson to government ministers.

Judge Willie Seriti reversed Trade and Industry Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa's decision to appoint Gidani as the lottery operator succeeding Uthingo.

Lawyers representing Uthingo had successfully argued that the minister had not applied his mind in allocating the licence to Gidani.

The judge declared that the process followed by the National Lotteries Board was flawed.

His ruling has sent a clear message to those in power: Do well the duties that lie before you lest you end up with egg on your face.

Of serious concern for the public too is the frequency with which members of the ruling party secure lucrative business deals over the head of the man-in-the-street.

These deals are obviously the preserve of the privileged few who straddle the corridors of power in the grip of peculiar superiority complexes.

Denying the few elite another chance to put their finger in the public pie, to which large sections of the South African population contribute, is certain to elicit a gleeful and triumphant punching in the air from the underdog.

Let all enjoy the pie that is the Lotto.