And Mansonto Ndlovu (Photo:
SA Travel Trade/Twitter)
Several days after a new acting head of the South African Tourism Board (SAT) was appointed, she is already being implicated in allegations of bribery.
A whistleblower called the council’s hotline and alleged that Nomasonto Ndlovu received a bribe of R100 000 from an airline on 6 and 7 December last year for business class flights, accommodation and tickets for the FIFA Soccer World Cup.
Ndlovu was appointed acting head last weekend. She took over from Themba Khumalo who resigned on Friday.
According to Manny de Freitas, the DA’s spokesperson on tourism, the SAT’s interim board members knew about the allegations, but still appointed Ndlovu to the post.
“This indicates that the SAT is in tatters and that the SAT board is making irresponsible decisions despite allegations that have been presented to them,” says De Freitas.
The council also decided to comply with Khumalo’s request to hand over the reins immediately, even though he is supposed to work a notice period of three months.
The latest meeting of the tourism portfolio committee, which lasted almost six hours, raised more questions than answers, says De Freitas.
“Currently, most of the top‑SAT leadership are in acting capacities. Ndlovu is acting chief executive as well as chief operating officer, while the chief quality assurance officer, Bronwen Auret, also acts as acting chief marketing officer.”
The DA wrote to the Minister of Tourism, Patricia de Lille, about the allegations against Ndlovu and requested that she:
- Ndlovu must be suspended, pending the outcome of the investigation into the allegations against her;
- ensure that SAT gets a complete and permanent top management;
- put together a proper SAT board consisting of at least nine members; and
- agree to the DA’s request to release information about the Tottenham Hotspur deal.
“As things stand now, SAT is doing very little to create confidence in the already vulnerable tourism and travel sector in South Africa. These issues need to be resolved quickly so that the council can get back on track and fulfill its mandate so that jobs can be created in this sector.”
