Soundbite by Haseena Ismail MP.
The DA condemns Minister Patricia De Lille’s decision to dissolve the Board of SA Tourism, while completely ignoring serious and credible accusations of impropriety levelled against the CEO.
We see no conclusion other than that Minister De Lille is using her position to protect a rogue CEO, while hiding behind a flawed procedural argument.
The DA demands that the Minister reinstate the Board immediately and allow it to proceed with an independent investigation into the CEO’s conduct.
De Lille must release the Ngubane forensic report which outlines the CEO’s alleged irregular approval of millions of rands of expenditure in her time as CFO. In addition, the Minister must appear before Parliament to account for her decisions as soon as possible. We have written to the Chair of the Portfolio Committee on Tourism to underline this.
SA Tourism has been plagued by allegations of corruption, underperformance, and poor financial controls for years, most notably during the period when the current CEO, Nombulelo Guliwe, was CFO.
The Auditor-General (AG) has made serious findings against Guliwe for wasting R4,1million of taxpayer money on an advance payment for the failed Dubai Expo project. Not a cent of this money has been recouped. The AG recommended consequence management against Guliwe as a result.
Instead of taking action against the rogue CEO, De Lille took action against the Board which was attempting to hold the CEO to account, in line with the AG’s recommendations. Her reasons for dissolving the Board are not supported in law and the irrationality of her decision speaks to improper motive.
This leaves us with the question: why? That is the question South Africans have for her, and that is what the DA will ask her when she appears in Parliament.
The DA will not allow Minister De Lille to escape accountability on this matter. She must explain to South Africans, and to Parliament, why she protects the corrupt and fires those who fight against it.