Cape Town – Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille has appointed three people to manage the affairs of the SA Tourism board until the appointment of a new board.
Kholeka Zama, Tim Harris, and Zwelibanzi Mntambo will run SA Tourism while the minister looks to appoint a full-time board.
De Lille made the announcement on Friday.
“Earlier this week, I announced that eight of the eleven previous SA Tourism board members had resigned and that the board was therefore no longer functional.
“I can today announce that I have gazetted the appointment of three persons to manage the affairs of SA tourism board until the appointment of a new board,” the minister said.
Media Statement: Three persons appointed to manage affairs of SA Tourism Board. pic.twitter.com/VEAlBohjDp
— Patricia de Lille (@PatriciaDeLille) April 21, 2023
The dissolution of the previous board was also published in the government gazette on Friday.
“The appointment of the three persons stems from developments over the past two weeks where on April 6, I wrote a letter to the then chairperson of the SA Tourism board, Dr Thozamile Botha asking for representation on why I should not dissolve the board in terms of my powers under the Tourism Act which subsequently resulted in my decision to dissolve the board,” De Lille said.
Earlier this week, the minister said a new SA Tourism board was expected to be appointed in four months.
“There will be an interim board until I can appoint a new board,” De Lille said during an interview with eNCA.
She added: “The process is that I have to advertise for 30 days. Thereafter we need to do the shortlisting and the interviews.
“Thereafter all the recommended board members need to go through a vetting process by the South African Security Agency.
“I suspect it can take anything between three to four months, depending on how quickly the vetting can be done.”
This came after De Lille advised SA Tourism not to proceed with the proposed controversial R900 million sponsorship of English Premier League club Tottenham, labelling it “unlawful and invalid”.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
