Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille. Picture: Tumi Pakkies/African News Agency(ANA)
Cape Town - Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille hopes to have appointed the new SA Tourism Board by the end of October.
The previous board was dissolved in April and three people were appointed to manage its affairs.
The Board was dissolved after De Lille wrote to former board chairperson, Thozamile Botha, raising concern around the conduct of the board in respect of the Tottenham Hotspur sponsorship; the composition of the board; and whether the members had the necessary knowledge, experience or qualifications as required by the Tourism Act.
She also flagged allegations raised by the acting CEO of South African Tourism regarding the lack of a proper functioning board.
The board attracted media headlines in February when it emerged that the entity was set to clinch a R900-million proposed deal with Tottenham Hotspur.
Botha and three other board members were appointed by former minister Lindiwe Sisulu after three other board members resigned in the wake of the proposed deal, with the English Premier League team.
De Lille has since scrapped the proposed deal.
Asked by EFF MP Anthony Matumba when De Lille envisaged to finalise the appointment of the new SA Tourism Board, she said the department was targeting no later than end of October 2023.
“It is not possible to state the exact time frames but the process is envisaged to take up to 160 days for finalisation of the appointment of the board,” she said.
However, De Lille explained that 30 days were dedicated to placing the advert for nominations of new members to serve on the board in the government gazette and two national newspapers in terms of the Tourism Act.
Another 30 days were allocated to the evaluation of candidates and verifying qualifications.
A further 30 to 60 days would be for the vetting of the candidates by the State Security Agency.
This would be followed by another period for Cabinet processes, which entails the cabinet committee making recommendations to cabinet for concurrence, and then 15 days for appointment and subsequent publication of the names and term of office of the board.
Cape Times