De Lille faces backlash over dissolution of South African Tourism board

Industry players in the tourism sector have remained at odds with the decision of the Minister of Tourism, Patricia de Lille, to dissolve the board of South African Tourism (SA Tourism).

This controversial decision followed the SA Tourism board’s suspension of its CEO, Nombulelo Guliwe, for misconduct last week.

This was allegedly over a R4.1 million prepayment to a service provider for work that investigators say was never done, a charge the company vehemently denies.

De Lille said the board acted unlawfully and overstepped its powers by taking the resolution to suspend Guliwe without following established protocols by convening a board meeting and taking resolutions on 1 August when 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, Rachel Nxele, and Lawson Naidoo.

However, board members on Thursday insisted that De Lille is “mistaken” in alleging the board held an irregular meeting on 1 August but instead the board was addressing dysfunction within SA Tourism, including procurement irregularities and the suspension of the company secretary and chief marketing officer.

"We wish to categorically state that there was no meeting of the board that was held on 1 August 2025. Therefore the grounds on which the Minister has relied upon to dissolve the board are factually inaccurate," they said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) - the umbrella organisation for business in the hospitality, travel, and tourism sector - said it was disappointed by De Lille’s decision.

The TBCSA said it met with both De Lille and the now-dissolved board, and remained convinced that the board had the right mix of expertise and leadership to help address instability within SA Tourism.

Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa, CEO of the TBCSA, said De Lille’s decision to dissolve the board was therefore not aligned with the position they shared and thus raises serious concern within the sector.

Tshivhengwa said they believed the board had begun to bring stability and continuity at a time when this was most needed and were urging that decisions affecting SA Tourism balance accountability and good governance, with the need for stability, industry expertise, and continuity of leadership. 

“As the voice of the private sector, the TBCSA will continue to put the tourism industry first. Our commitment is to support growth programmes, sustainability, and the millions of livelihoods that depend on tourism,” Tshivhengwa said. 

“Importantly, even while this transition unfolds, we will find ways to ensure that critical programmes continue to progress. We will remain a constructive partner to the government but will also continue to advocate strongly for decisions that build, rather than destabilise, the sector.” 

SA Tourism, the national tourism agency responsible for the marketing of South Africa as a preferred tourist destination, has been plagued by allegations of corruption, underperformance, and poor financial controls for years.

The organisation was recently plunged into a tender scandal after allegations of irregularities in the awarding of a R100m 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.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) demanded that De Lille reinstate the board immediately and allow it to proceed with an independent investigation into Guliwe’s conduct.

DA spokesperson on tourism, Haseena Ismail, said De Lille’s reasons for dissolving the board were not supported in law and spoke to improper motives.

“We see no conclusion other than that Minister De Lille is using her position to protect a rogue CEO, while hiding behind a flawed procedural argument,” Ismail said.

“De Lille must release the Ngubane forensic report which outlines the CEO’s alleged irregular approval of millions of rands of expenditure in her time as CFO. In addition, the Minister must appear before Parliament to account for her decisions as soon as possible. We have written to the chair of the Portfolio Committee on Tourism to underline this.

“The Auditor-General (AG) has made serious findings against Guliwe for wasting R4.1m of taxpayer money on an advance payment for the failed Dubai Expo project. Not a cent of this money has been recouped. The AG recommended consequence management against Guliwe as a result.”

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) expressed grave concerns that De Lille failed to engage in open dialogue with the board before making such a drastic decision.

Wayne Duvenage, Outa CEO, said the fact that the board does not have a chairperson – which incidentally is the Minister’s fault – doesn’t make the board’s decision unlawful in taking the necessary action that it did. We believe the board was quorate and unanimous in how it arrived at the decision to suspend the CEO, pending a disciplinary enquiry into her conduct.

“This decision by Minister de Lille is disgraceful. Outa has witnessed many boards of state entities that have fallen short of their oversight and fiduciary duties, which gives rise to maladministration and corruption in these entities,” Duvenage said.

“Thus, when we witness a state entity board that is acting with integrity and diligence, we need to celebrate and support them. What infuriates us is when a minister such as de Lille steps in to dismantle it. Such political interference and irrational behaviour undermines accountability, emboldens misconduct, and signals to all state entities that political protection trumps governance.”

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