Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Tourism has recommended that the R911 million (€49.3m) earmarked for SA Tourism’s proposed sponsorship deal with Tottenham Hotspur be channelled into revitalising dilapidated tourism infrastructure projects or “other pressing needs”.

The committee convened a meeting with SA Tourism on February 21, to discuss 2022/23 performance reports, but the discussions instead centred on the proposed Tottenham Hotspur deal and changes to the SA Tourism board.

The committee reasserted that Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana and President Cyril Ramaphosa should place the proposed deal on hold, as it considered it is as “not in the best interest of the tourism industry and the country”.

“The available R910 997 814.75 that has been earmarked for the Tottenham Hotspur Football Club (should) be reprioritised to tourism infrastructure projects which are currently dilapidated or other pressing needs of the tourism sector,” the committee’s meeting report states.

The committee also recommended the immediate removal of SAT board Chairperson Dr Thozamile Botha, along with an investigation into the appointment of board members following the resignation of Enver Duminy, Ravi Nadasen and Rosemary Anderson. 

“The new Board Chairperson was appointed by the Minister (Lindiwe Sisulu) without having been gazetted and should be removed with immediate effect and a new Board Chairperson be appointed after a due process has been followed,” the committee stated.

From June 2022, SAT was governed by an interim board, until the replacement of a board approved by Cabinet in October and gazetted by Sisulu in November.

The gazetted board was led by Dr Nondumiso Maphazi, with Dr Aubrey Mhlongo as Deputy Chairperson, before Maphazi was removed and replaced by Mhlongo. Mhlongo was subsequently replaced by Botha.