Cape Town - Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille has taken a hard line against Parliament’s portfolio committee on tourism which has urged her to ditch two of the three people she appointed as the interim board of SA Tourism.
A row between the minister and the committee broke out following De Lille’s appointment of former Wesgro chief executive Tim Harris, businessman Zwelibanzi Mntambo and financial expert Kholeka Zama in a bid to turn the agency’s fortunes around.
In a statement issued after their engagement with De Lille, the committee said: “Two of the three people on the interim committee, Tim Harris and Zwelibanzi Mntambo, have questionable reputations and they must be replaced.”
During the meeting, committee chairperson Tandi Mahambehlala (ANC) had taken issue with Mntambo’s appointment, claiming he was one of the richest people in the country and asking if there was nobody else who could be appointed instead.
Meanwhile, committee member Anthony Matumba (EFF) accused De Lille of behaving “inappropriately” in her appointment of Harris due to their previous working relationship and said “it was as though she was appointing friends”.
Responding to queries about the criticism on Friday, De Lille reminded the committee about the separation of powers.
She said: “I have made it clear that I will listen to and consider their concerns, but they will not instruct me on what to do.”
She said the committee had not provided any proof of why the interim board members were questionable and that it was the minister’s prerogative in terms of the Tourism Act to appoint persons to manage the affairs of the board.
“These appointments were for people with experience in governance, finance and tourism economics and destination marketing.”
With regard to the committee’s demands that she lift the moratorium she had put in place at SA Tourism, especially on the filling of some executive posts, as recommended by the Auditor-General, De Lille said she would first work on stabilising SA Tourism.
Defending himself during an interview on SABC, Harris said: “The proof of the pudding will be in the eating.
“I think the minister’s logic is she was looking for a team that had experience first in tourism promotion, that had experience in governance.
“One of the things that South African tourism needs is a board that can give the management the space that they need to promote the country.”
