South African Tourism board chairperson Thozamile Botha and three other board members are understood to have resigned on Monday ahead of being suspended. Photo: Supplied
South African Tourism board chairperson Thozamile Botha and three other board members are understood to have resigned on Monday ahead of being suspended — and fired — by Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille over, among other issues, the R1 billion Tottenham Hotspur debacle.
The four are believed to be the victims of the proposed Spurs sleeve sponsorship debacle, which was exposed in February and cost then acting chief financial officer Johan van der Walt his job.
Three board members — Enver Duminy, Ravi Nadasen and Rosemary Anderson — also resigned over their opposition to the deal in February, which SA Tourism attempted to continue to push through despite the outcry from the public and the presidency.
They were replaced days later by then tourism minister Lindiwe Sisulu in a process which was flagged as irregular by opposition parties.
Now Sisulu’s successor wants to dissolve the board over the Tottenham disaster and allegations of sexual harassment levelled against two board members by SA Tourism staff.
De Lille also believes that the appointment of the four was unprocedural and that the board needs to be dissolved in its entirety and a new one appointed to properly market South Africa abroad.
On 6 April De Lille wrote to Botha, asking him to provide her with reasons she should not dissolve the board over a number of issues. She gave Botha until 18 April to respond.
A source close to the process said De Lille had cited the Spurs deal, the irregular appointment of Botha and three board members and allegations of sexual harassment levelled against two board members by office staff among the reasons why the board should be dissolved.
The source said Botha had asked the board to discuss De Lille’s letter on 11 April without circulating it to them, but resigned ahead of the meeting, along with the three members appointed by Sisulu.
De Lille’s letter to Botha was meant to be discussed at a meeting of the SA Tourism board scheduled for Tuesday, but the source said he as well as board members Mduduzi Zakhe and two others had resigned.
De Lille on Tuesday confirmed that she wants to dissolve the 11-member board over “serious allegations” but refused to comment further.
“I can confirm that I have sent a letter to the chairperson of the SA Tourism board on 6 April to request for reasons, why as the minister, I should not dissolve the board in terms of section 16 (3) of the Tourism Act 3 of 2014 based on serious allegations,” De Lille said.
“I will not engage with the board through the media as I have given them until 18 April to respond to my letter.”
Sisulu’s adviser, Mphumzi Mdekazi, said the appointments had been made legitimately and within the then minister’s powers.
“We are not in government,” Mdekazi said. “Everything that we did was the application of the SA Tourism Act and was above board.
“People must do what they want to do without drawing us in. They must be bold enough without using us. There is no other way to interpret the act, except to lie or be driven by an ulterior motive.”
Mdekazi said that the Act was clear about how vacancies were filled and Sisulu had followed this process.
“We mustn’t be used as a scapegoat for nefarity. The Act is clear on how a vacancy is filled. We know exactly what is at play here,” he said.
Botha did not respond to calls and messages from the M&G.
Thandiwe Mathibela, spokesperson for SA Tourism, said she was not aware of any resignations.