The majority of political parties in South Africa’s parliament have endorsed the Department of Tourism’s proposed 2023/24 budget, with a caveat that the governance and management issues faced by South African Tourism (which will receive the largest chunk of the budget) are rapidly resolved.

Members of Parliament debated the Tourism Budget Vote after it was presented by Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille on Wednesday, May 24. Of the R2.5bn (€121 million) appropriated by the Department of Tourism, more than 50% (R1.34bn (€65 m)) has been earmarked for transfer to SA Tourism. The state-owned marketing entity has been embattled by governance challenges following the controversial Tottenham Hotspur sponsorship deal, which prompted De Lille to dissolve the SA Tourism board and resulted in the resignation of key executives.

De Lille said that SA Tourism would be expected to continue to fulfil its mandate of marketing South Africa by prioritising domestic tourism, followed by regional and then international tourism.

“Key to this will be the Global Tourism Brand Campaign that seeks to ensure that South Africa is embedded as a top-of-mind destination for all potential tourists,” she said.

“Through the Global Trade component, SA Tourism will continue to participate in various local and international platforms to connect and promote South Africa as a lucrative destination to international airlines. We live in a globally competitive village and we must work much harder at destination marketing initiatives.”

Calls to appoint board members

The dissolved SA Tourism board was replaced by an interim three-member board comprising Chairperson Tim Harris, Kholeka Zama, and Vincent Zwelibanzi. MPs called on Minister De Lille to swiftly appoint a full board that would represent a fair demographic and geographic spread, as prescribed by the Tourism Act of 2014.

“Since putting out the fire caused by the Tottenham Hotspur deal through robust oversight, there has subsequently been a spike of other challenges that raised concerns about the institutional capacity of SA Tourism,” said African National Congress (ANC) MP, Tandi Mahambehlala, Chairperson of parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Tourism, who pointed out that SA Tourism’s executive committee currently had five acting positions, including that of recently appointed Acting CEO, Nomasonto Ndlovu.

Mahambehlala said that the ruling party supported the adoption of the budget, but argued that the funds allocated to SA Tourism should not be transferred to the entity until the full appointment of the board and the filling of executive positions.

“We welcome the 0.78% increase of the budget for 2023/24, as it is commensurate with the call to sufficiently fund the immense mandate bestowed upon the Department of Tourism and its entity. But we are concerned that failure to respond to the highlighted challenges will have a detrimental effect and further impede on SA Tourism’s abilities to deliver on its mandate,” said Mahambehlala.

Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) MP Zandile Majozi said, because of the tourism industry’s vital importance in job creation, funds needed to spent wisely to maximise the benefits to communities, especially those in rural areas.

“SA Tourism is such an important entity to promote South Africa as a business, events and tourist destination, but the current concerns do not allow the entity to reach its full potential,” said Majozi.

‘Stop the bickering’

In response to the MPs’ concerns, De Lille called for a stop to the ‘bickering’ that was 'detracting attention' from the Department of Tourism’s action plan.

“I think we all agree that we have inherited a mess, with allegations of corruption and acting positions being in place for many months. That is why it is so important to establish an interim board until we have established a new board,” said De Lille.

Nominations for new board members are open until June 6.

“You are behaving as if there is not a full board coming. We must make sure that they have the capabilities," De Lille told MPs. "The current three board members have the capabilities and experience, and I have confidence that until the new board comes we are able to get work done."