Africa-Press – South-Africa. The director-general (DG) of the tourism department was never informed of SA Tourism’s proposed sponsorship deal with English football club Tottenham Hotspur.
In February, Daily Maverick broke the news of SA Tourism’s proposed three-year sponsorship deal with Tottenham Hotspur. It would have been worth £42.5 million (about R900 million), starting at the beginning of the 2023-24 season and ending at the end of the 2026-27 season.
And this, in fact, was also how the department’s director general, Victor Tharage, learnt of the deal, which Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille then put a stop to amid public outrage soon after she took over the portfolio from Lindiwe Sisulu.
In a written parliamentary question, the DA’s Manny de Freitas asked when Tharage was “first advised of the proposed sponsorship deal with Tottenham Hotspur Football Club”.
He also asked what details Tharage received, and what his response was when he received a full briefing.
De Freitas also asked: “What oversight mechanisms exist for her department to intervene in instances where it is clear that the SA Tourism Board is not making sound decisions.”
De Lille answered:
“The director-general was never briefed on the matter, but learnt about it from the media. Upon learning about it from the media, the director-general immediately wrote to the acting CEO enquiring if the information contained in the article was true and also raised other related governance matters associated thereto. This information was never received to date,” De Lille said.
“The department may only know of matters communicated and/or reported to it by the entity and basis of which the department advises the executive authority on appropriate action. Where matters are not brought to the department’s attention, it would have no means of overseeing such. However, the board members individually and severally have fiduciary duties which they must uphold at all times and for which they take full accountability.”
Tottenham finished eighth in the Premier League in the season which concluded last month, and did not qualify to compete in European competitions in the coming season.
During her department’s budget vote debate in the National Assembly last month, MPs had a go at De Lille about the three-member interim board she appointed for South African Tourism, to the extent that they want the department to transfer the allocated budget to the controversial entity only once its issues have been resolved.
De Lille dissolved SA Tourism’s board, after eight of the 11 members resigned in the wake of the Spurs scandal.
She appointed Kholeka Zama, Tim Harris and Vincent Zwelibanzi Mntambo as an interim board, with Harris subsequently appointed chairperson.
In another parliamentary question, the EFF’s Anthony Matumba asked De Lille when she would finalise the appointment of a new SA Tourism board.
“We are targeting no later than end of October 2023,” De Lille responded.
She said there weren’t exact timeframes in place, but it was expected the process could take up to 160 days.
The following steps have to take place, according to De Lille:
For More News And Analysis About South-Africa Follow Africa-Press
