The appointment of Eastern Cape turism board CEO Glenton de Kock has been put on hold after the Eastern Cape tourism board resigned en masse this weekend in protest against his appointment.
However, environmental affairs and tourism department MEC Andre de Wet says he hopes to have a new board by the end of this month. The appointment of a chief executive officer for the board should follow soon after that — perhaps within the next few weeks.
”We now have to start the selection process all over again but I am confident that we can have a board in place by the end of the month,” said De Kock on Monday.
De Wet said that he was not surprised but he was disappointed that the board had resigned.
The board resigned over the selection of a CEO for the Eastern Cape tourism board and apparently dug in its heels regarding its choice of a candidate.
”According to the process I was given a list of three names of the top candidates and made my choice which I expected to be ratified,” De Wet said.
The MEC endorsed current Tourism Buffalo City CEO Glenton De Kock while the rest of the board unanimously endorsed another of the candidates, whom no one will name.
The board was appointed by sacked finance MEC Enoch Godongwana in March.
”There was not a huge amount of tourism experience on the board and I wanted to ensure that the CEO we appointed was someone who came from a strong background in tourism.
”Glenton De Kock’s name was second on the list of three candidates and I felt that he would be the best person for the job with his knowledge of the Eastern Cape, its demographics and its strengths and weaknesses in terms of tourism,” De Wet said. – Sapa