Africa-Press – South-Africa. Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille has announced her intention to dissolve the board of SA Tourism by the end of the week.
This comes after SA Tourism’s controversial proposal to sponsor English Premier League football team Tottenham Hotspur for nearly R1 billion.
On Wednesday, De Lille said she had written to former board chairperson Thozamile Botha, asking for representations on why she should not dissolve the board using the minister’s powers under the Tourism Act.
“My letter outlined a number of serious concerns, such as the conduct of the board in respect of the Tottenham Hotspur sponsorship matter; the composition of the board and whether the members have the necessary knowledge, experience or qualifications as required by Section 13 of the Tourism Act; and certain serious allegations raised by the acting CEO of SA Tourism regarding the lack of a proper functioning board,” she said.
In her letter, De Lille added that she had requested Botha to respond to her in writing by Tuesday.
She said:
De Lille said eight of the eleven board members, including the chairperson, had resigned between 7 and 13 April.
“The remaining three members of the board cannot form a quorum, and the board is therefore no longer functional. In all the circumstances, I believe that good cause exists to dissolve the board, and I shall do so officially through the Government Gazette on Friday, 21 April 2023,” she added.
De Lille said she would officially gazette the appointment of a team of three people to manage the affairs of the board until the appointment of a new board.
SA Tourism came under fire in February when Daily Maverick reported that it had proposed a three-year deal worth £42.5 million (nearly R1 billion) with Spurs, starting at the beginning of the 2023-24 English Premier League season, and ending at the end of the 2026-27 season.
In return, SA Tourism would receive kit branding, interview backdrop branding, match-day advertising, partnership announcements, training camps in South Africa, and free access to tickets and stadium hospitality.
In March, De Lille announced a decision to scrap the “unlawful and invalid” deal. She said public funds needed to be used sparingly, given the country’s economic state.
The response by SA Tourism’s board at the time was that there was no “unlawful and invalid” Tottenham Hotspur transaction to be cancelled since only an in-principle decision had existed.
For More News And Analysis About South-Africa Follow Africa-Press
