The former members of the board of Tourism South Africa on Tuesday challenged the reasons given by Tourism Minister Patria de Lille on why she dissolved the board earlier this month.

The former board made presentations to the Tourism Portfolio Committee after De Lille gave her reasons for dissolving the board, among other things.

The minister accused the former board of not convening properly constituted special meetings, and unlawfully conducted a round robin resolution in the absence of the chair to give power to one of board members, Lawson Naidoo, to act as a board representative.

De Lille also said the board failed to act on the complaint of the company secretary against the CEO, and denied blocking the board from acting against the CEO in relation to a forensic investigation report.

Addressing the committee, Naidoo said the reasons provided by De Lille to dissolve the board did not constitute good cause as provided for by the Tourism Act.

Naidoo said De Lille had in her letter asked for reasons why they should not be dissolved following the round robin resolution to appoint him as a representative of the board and implement the decisions of the board.

“We were given 48 hours and each of us replied with detailed rebuttal on 14 August. We wrote to the minister on 15 August requesting an urgent meeting to discuss our understanding of the resolution,” he said.

“We received an acknowledgement a few days later, but no substantive response for the urgent meeting,” he said.

Naidoo said the letter dissolving the board on August 19 provided different reasons.

“We did not have an opportunity to respond to reasons provided in the second letter. The audi alteram partem rule was violated. We were not given an opportunity to respond to that.”

He also said there was an element of confusion on what constituted a round robin resolution and a special meeting.

 “The crisp point is that there was no meeting of the board on 1 August.”

Naidoo told the MPs that former chairperson Professor Gregory Davids announced his resignation on 31 July as they were in the process of finalising the annual financial statements and annual report for submission to the Auditor-General.

Earlier on the same day, CEO Nombulelo Guliwe allegedly suspended the company secretary and a day later the chief marketing officer and other staff members.

“We felt that was contrary to fair labour practices, they were not given adequate opportunity to respond and had their representations dismissed.”

Naidoo also said the board passed a motion of no confidence in Davids two weeks earlier and asked De Lille to urgently appoint a chairperson and deputy chairperson.

“The minister did not act on that.”

He said the unanimous decision to suspend Guliwe was not related to the Ngubane report that probed irregular expenditure related to a R4.1m contract, but the manner in which the company secretary and chief marketing officer were placed on suspension.

“There were other staff members placed on suspension, five members of staff within 24 hours.”

Another former board member Ikageng Oupa Pilane said De Lille had not appointed a deputy chairperson for the board since they were inducted last year and her response was “I am working on it”.

“On the vote of no confidence, we stated ‘we request you to appoint the chair and deputy chair immediately’. The minister blue ticked us.”

He said the law was prescriptive to the minister and she can not choose one part of it over the other.

“It is dereliction of the minister not perform her functions. If there was a deputy chair, this meeting was not going to happen,” Pilane said.

He accused De Lille of not referring to the material irregularity identified by the Auditor-General involving an R4.1m contract awarded when Guliwe was the CFO.

“She asked for documents not related to the material irregularity.”

mayibongwe.maqhina@inl.co.za

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