De Lille dissolves SA Tourism board amid leadership crisis

Minister of Tourism, Patricia de Lille, has dissolved the board of directors of the South African Tourism (SA Tourism) after it failed to convince her as to why it should remain in office. 

This drastic move comes on the heels of the board's decision to suspend CEO Nombulelo Guliwe for misconduct last week.

Guliwe, a qualified Chartered Accountant, was appointed to the CEO position for a five-year period in February 2024 following a comprehensive recruitment process.

SA Tourism was recently plunged into a tender scandal after allegations of irregularities in the awarding of a R100 million tender to Pomme Express, a company reported to have failed to show proof of experience and alleged to have provided false and misleading information in its bid to organise Meetings Africa 2025 and Africa’s Travel Indaba 2025.

De Lille had given the nine-member board until Thursday night last week to explain why it should not be dissolved because, in its current form, it was not properly constituted to take such a resolution since it had no chairperson following the resignation of Professor Gregory Davids last month.

The remaining members of the SA Tourism board were Judi Nwokedi, Miller Matola, Ikaneng Pilane, Maija de Rijk-Uys, Tumelo Selikane, Ayanda Mazibuko, Jonathan Gadiah, Lawson Naidoo and Rachel Nxele.

In a letter addressed to individual board members on Tuesday night and seen by Business Report, De Lille cited legal grounds for her decision.

She asserted that the board acted unlawfully and overstepped its powers by taking the resolution to suspend Guliwe without following established protocols.  

“I have considered your written representations and have taken a decision to remove you from the Board of South African Tourism in terms of section 16(1) of the Tourism Act No.3 of 2014 effective immediately,” De Lille wrote.

“As a consequence of this, I have also taken a decision to dissolve the board effective immediately in terms of section 16(3) of the Act.” 

De Lille's spokesperson, Aldrin Sampear, confirmed the authenticity of the letter on Wednesday morning and said the department will be issuing a media statement later in the day.

De Lille said the reasons for her decision to dissolve the board was that it “acted unlawfully and exceeded its powers” when it took the resolution on 1 August to put Guliwe on precautionary suspension. 

She said the meeting where the resolution was taken did not follow the lawful procedure set out in section 18(2) of the Act. 

“This is because it is only the chairperson of the board who is empowered by section 18(2) of the Act to call a special board meeting; your written representations do not address an important issue about the procedure followed by the board when it convened a special board meeting on 01 August 2025,” De Lille said.

“To be specific, your written representations do not provide an explanation about the individual who convened the special Board meeting. You have also failed to provide me with information required by section 18(3) of the Act when the board convened the special board meeting.”

De Lille said that the board was a creature of statute created in terms of section 13 of the Act and as such, the board derives its powers from the enabling statute that created it, the Act, read together with the Board Charter.

She said the board must always be guided by the principle of legality in the exercise of its powers, which is part of the rule of law as set out in section 1(c) of the Constitution

“I was in the process of filling the vacant positions of the board as required by section 16(2) of the Act when the board took the impugned resolution on 01 August 2025. The board acted prematurely, unlawfully and ultra vires its powers when it took the impugned resolution on 01 August 2025,” she said.

“I will be embarking on the process to appoint an interim structure as required by section 16(3)(b) of the Act. In addition to this, I will also be starting a separate process to recruit members of the board in terms of section 12(2) of the Act.”

On Tuesday, the Institute of Directors in South Africa (IoDSA) warned that the decision to dissolve the board of SA Tourism raised governance red flags.

IoDSA CEO Parmi Natesan said when a chairperson steps down, continuity mechanisms should exist, adding that the guiding policies and processes should provide for someone to act in this key leadership role so that the functioning of the board can continue seamlessly.

Natesan said while a Board Charter documents the role, responsibilities, membership requirements and procedural conduct of the board, it cannot override the board’s statutory and fiduciary duties in terms of the law.

"King IV is clear that the governing body should appoint the CEO, and that the CEO should be accountable to the governing body. It naturally follows that the board may also, in its discretion, suspend or remove a CEO, provided this is carried out in line with fair labour practices," Natesan said.

"It is concerning if any boards feel that fulfilling their statutory duties could lead to their own dissolution. Effective governance requires that boards be empowered and trusted to carry out their roles without fear."

BUSINESS REPORT