De Lille faces backlash over decision to dissolve the South African Tourism Board

Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille is facing a backlash after she dissolved the board of the South African Tourism (SAT) earlier this week, with some calling on her to reinstate it while others want her to appear before a parliamentary committee.

De Lille has accused the board of irregularly convening a meeting earlier this month to appoint a chairperson following the resignation of former chairperson Gregory Davids on July 31 in the wake of it placing CEO Nombulelo Guliwe under precautionary suspension.

De Lille said she was in the process of filling the vacant positions on the board when one of the board members, Lawson Naidoo, was nominated as its spokesperson pending the appointment of a new chair.

According to De Lille, the board acted prematurely and unlawfully, and she had previously cautioned it about the possible implications of failing to follow due process when convening special and ordinary meetings.

But, Naidoo said, there was no such meeting held to elect a board chairperson.

“The minister is factually wrong in that regard and her premise for dissolving the board is invalid,” he said.

Naidoo also said the board passed a round robin resolution to appoint him as the spokesperson in the absence of a chairperson.

He added that De Lille had failed to appoint a deputy chairperson for many months and has not taken steps to appoint a new chairperson.

Tourism Portfolio Committee chairperson Ronalda Nalumango said she noted with concern the dissolution of the board.

Nalumango said the committee will invite the minister to brief it on her decision to dissolve the South African Tourism Board.

“We look forward to hearing from her about this development, particularly in light of the committee’s earlier engagement on her commitments to take South African Tourism to new heights when she marked 100 days since her appointment as minister,” she said.

Sonja Boshoff, chairperson of the Select Committee on Economic Development and Trade, also noted De Lille’s decision to dissolve the entire board.

Boshoff said when such decisions were taken, they should always be aimed at improving governance within government entities.

“The committee is satisfied that the minister acted on sound legal advice in arriving at her decision, which the committee notes and welcomes. The role of this entity is even more crucial given the geopolitical ructions that the country currently faces,” she said.

However, the DA has condemned De Lille’s decision, saying she completely ignored serious and credible accusations of impropriety levelled against the CEO.

“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. The DA demands that the minister reinstate the board immediately and allow it to proceed with an independent investigation into the CEO’s conduct,” DA MP Haseen Ismail said.

Ismail said De Lille’s reasons for dissolving the board were not supported in law and the irrationality of her decision speaks to improper motive.

“She must explain to South Africans, and to Parliament, why she protects the corrupt and fires those who fight against it.”

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) said it was outraged by De Lille’s decision to dissolve the South African Tourism board.

OUTA CEO Wayne Duvenage said her action was nothing short of gross political interference and represented a direct assault on governance and accountability within a state entity.

He called on De Lille to reverse her decision immediately and reinstate the SAT Board. “Should she fail to do so, OUTA urges the members of the dissolved board to bring an urgent interdict before the courts to challenge the legality of her decision,” Duvenage said.

The Tourism Business Council of South Africa said it was disappointed by the board’s dissolution.

“It disappoints us when we see what the minister has done, the fact that we don’t have a board and it is not the first time the board has been dissolved,” CEO Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa said.

mayibongwe.maqhina@inl.co.za