Tourism minister Patricia de Lille has dared anyone who says she was protecting corruption when she dissolved the SA Tourism board to take any evidence they have to law enforcement agencies. .
De Lille made the comment during her briefing to the parliamentary portfolio committee on Tuesday while outlining the reasons for the resignation of the tourism board chairperson and her decision to dissolve the board, among others.
“The chairperson [of the portfolio committee] said it seems...that I am protecting corruption. I want to say that if anybody has any evidence that I am protecting corruption, I will advise anybody to take the evidence to the Hawks, to the police,” she said.
De Lille, who dissolved the board with immediate effect last month after accusing it of unlawfully convening a special meeting on August 1, said: “Instead of writing to me to appoint an acting chair to deal with the so-called urgent matters, the board gave Mr Lawson Naidoo the powers of a board chairperson.”
She said legal advice confirmed that the board’s action was unlawful.
“The board acted unlawfully. It exceeded its powers when it took a resolution dated August 1, in that the very meeting where the resolution was taken did not follow the lawful procedure of the Tourism Act. This is because only the chairperson of the board was empowered to call a special board meeting.
“While this board denies that Mr Naidoo is the board chairperson, it is evident from its actions on August 1 that the powers of the so-called representative include powers exclusive to a board chairperson.”
The chairperson [of the portfolio committee] said it seems...that I am protecting corruption. I want to say that if anybody has any evidence that I am protecting corruption, I will advise anybody to take the evidence to the Hawks, to the police,
— Patricia de Lille, minister of tourism
De Lille said Naidoo directly communicated to the members of the executive, and also extended the contract of the acting chief audit executive despite being formally advised that the contract with the CTH law firm had lapsed.
“Mr Naidoo nevertheless continues to engage the services of [the] CTH law firm, and even as far as to approve an invoice of almost R120,000, [which] amounts to authorising payments for services outside the ambit of a valid contract.
“[It is] a clear contravention of procurement and financial governance prescripts, and in doing so, he placed the entire board at risk as he was purportedly acting on their behalf. Every law in this country matters and every cent matters,” she said.
De Lille also told the committee that on August 13, the board, represented by Naidoo, suspended SA Tourism’s CEO, Nombulelo Guliwe, for what they deemed the “retaliatory suspension of the company’s secretary chief marketing officer”.
Naidoo, who was also at the portfolio committee meeting, denied that there was a meeting on August 1 with board members and that he was appointed as interim board chair.
“The crisp issue facing the committee today is: was the decision to dissolve the board rational and lawful? We submit that it was not,” he said.
The Sunday Times had previously reported that De Lille and the board had locked horns over the board’s decision to institute disciplinary action against Guliwe.
This was over a R4.1m prepayment to a service provider for work that investigators say was never done, a charge the company vehemently denies.
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) called on De Lille to reverse her decision to dissolve the board, saying it was political interference, which “represents a direct assault on governance and accountability within a state entity”.
“The SA Tourism (SAT) board had acted within its mandate and in line with its fiduciary responsibilities by addressing serious governance concerns, including findings raised by the auditor-general and a corroborating forensic investigation into irregular financial conduct,” said Outa CEO Wayne Duvenage.
“Instead of supporting her own competent board for holding executive management accountable, the minister has chosen to protect the SAT CEO by disbanding the very body tasked with oversight.”
De Lille on Tuesday assured the committee there was no crisis and said she has appointed a group of six people to handle the affairs of SA tourism until she appoints a permanent board.
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