Johannesburg – The interim SA Tourism Board board understands the urgency and work required to bring greater alignment to all their work, says Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille following the announcement of the three-person board on April 21.
She insisted that the appointment of the three people who will manage the affairs of the board after the dissolution of the previous one, was done in line with the section 16 (3) (b) of the Tourism Act.
The dissolution of the previous tourism board last month came after the outcry over the R900 million Tottenham Hotspur sponsorship deal that has since been scrapped because the deal with the English Premiership football club was said to be “unlawful”.
Incompetence was among the allegations levelled at the previous board.
The tourism sector and hospitality industry have welcomed the minister's decision to dissolve the SA Tourism Board and appoint an interim team to oversee affairs.
The three people who were appointed were:
* Kholeka Zama, a qualified chartered accountant who has worked in finance, audit and governance roles and has served as a chief financial officer at several entities.
* Tim Harris, a tourism and economic promotion specialist with 20 years’ global experience in destination marketing, economic policy, investment promotion and governance.
* Vincent Zwelibanzi Mntambo, who has a law degree from the University of the North West and a Master’s in law from Yale University and has held various administrative and management positions at Fiat (SA) and later served as faculty officer at the University of the North West. He also served as the first director-general of the Gauteng provincial government.
De Lille said: “I met with the interim board last week to discuss their duties and urgent work needed to stabilise SA Tourism and pursue our objective of growing inclusive tourism in South Africa.”
During a meeting held by the minister with the interim board, Mntambo nominated Harris as their chairperson. This was accepted, and this update will be gazetted in the Government Gazette of May 5, 2023.
Harris wrote to the acting CEO of SA Tourism on April 26, requesting a number of strategic documents and an urgent briefing from the SA Tourism executive.
De Lille said: “I had a fruitful and frank discussion with the interim SA Tourism Board and the director-general of the Department of Tourism outlining key outcomes and areas we need to work on urgently to ensure that the SA Tourism interim board, the SA Tourism executive and the Department of Tourism can work together efficiently to grow inclusive tourism for the country.”
IOL