SA Tourism under scrutiny as SIU launches probe into payments for undelivered services

President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed a far-reaching proclamation authorising the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to probe allegations of serious maladministration, improper conduct and possible corruption at South African Tourism (SA Tourism), marking one of the most significant interventions in the entity’s recent history.

The proclamation follows years of controversy at the organisation, which has faced persistent governance instability and a collapse in industry confidence.

Proclamation 297 of 2025, signed by the President and gazetted this week, empowers the SIU to investigate allegations centred on the procurement of media buying services, including three specific invoices and purchase orders.

The SIU’s mandate includes examining payments made for services that were never rendered, partially delivered, or not executed in accordance with contractual obligations.

This comes after the previous SA Tourism board suspended the CEO, Nombulelo Guliwe, in August over allegations of financial misconduct. These allegations included a R4.1 million prepayment to a service provider for work that investigators say was never completed. The company involved has denied any wrongdoing.

According to the Presidency, the investigation will look into whether SA Tourism and its officials violated procurement legislation, National Treasury instructions, or internal supply chain policies.

The SIU will also scrutinise any unauthorised, irregular, or fruitless and wasteful expenditure linked to media buying contracts, with a particular focus on cases where payments were made without corresponding services being delivered.

The scope of the investigation covers all alleged wrongdoing that occurred between 1 March 2020 and 21 November 2025, but the proclamation also allows the SIU to examine conduct before or after these dates if it is relevant to the core allegations. This includes contracts where companies were paid despite failing to deliver media buying or related promotional services.

The SIU is empowered not only to uncover administrative and criminal wrongdoing but also to recover financial losses suffered by the State.

Any evidence pointing to criminal conduct will be referred to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), while civil proceedings may be initiated through the High Court or a Special Tribunal.

Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille, who requested the proclamation in September, welcomed the President’s decision on Tuesday.

“I am therefore pleased that this step has now been formalised, allowing the SIU to fully investigate the matters raised, including procurement irregularities, improper conduct, and any unauthorised, irregular or wasteful expenditure at South African Tourism,” de Lille said.

She stressed that restoring credibility in the tourism sector requires absolute transparency.

“Good governance is not optional. We cannot attract investment, grow our visitor numbers or build confidence in South Africa’s tourism institutions if public funds are mismanaged,” she said.

De Lille added that SA Tourism would fully cooperate with the SIU and that the process is critical to rebuilding the entity into one known for integrity and accountability.

Her remarks come after a period of turbulence at SA Tourism marked by board dissolutions, leadership suspensions, and contested procurement decisions.

The Democratic Alliance (DA), however, has placed the blame squarely at the feet of De Lille, arguing that systemic failures intensified under her leadership.

DA spokesperson on tourism, Haseena Ismail, welcomed the SIU investigation but said it confirms concerns the party has raised for years.

“This is a long-overdue step, and one the DA has been calling for as SA Tourism has lurched from crisis to crisis under Minister Patricia de Lille’s mismanagement,” Ismail said.

She pointed to the period beginning in 2020, covered by the proclamation, as particularly significant. She pointed out that the invoices now under scrutiny relate to Guliwe's tenure, who previously served as the organisation’s chief financial officer.

“It was during her tenure as CFO and later as CEO that SA Tourism recorded repeated qualified audits, incurred unauthorised expenditure, and became mired in scandals that shattered industry confidence,” Ismail said.

The DA also referenced its September warning that SA Tourism’s governance failures had prompted the private sector to withhold up to R500 million in Tourism Levy South Africa, a move that severely strained the entity’s financial capacity.

“Today’s SIU referral confirms what we have argued all along: there was a crisis, and it was deep,” Ismail said. “South Africans deserve to know how much was lost, who benefitted, and why political protection was placed above accountability.” 

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