Parliament, Wednesday, 26 November 2025 – The Portfolio Committee on Tourism has applauded President Cyril Ramaphosa for signing a proclamation authorising the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to investigate allegations of serious maladministration and improper conduct in the affairs of the South African Tourism Board (SA Tourism) and to recover any financial losses suffered by the state.
The committee met the Department of Tourism and SA Tourism on their 2025/26 first quarter performance and to consider the report on SA Tourism’s active contracts. The committee Chairperson, Ms Ronalda Nalumango, said that the briefings only took place in November because the committee has been dealing with various governance matters, particularly at SA Tourism, ranging from the dissolution of the board to court cases and malfeasance around contracts, since the beginning of the financial year.
The committee welcomed the SIU Proclamation 297 of 2025 empowering the SIU to investigate allegations relating to the procurement of media buying services linked to three specific invoices and purchase orders, as well as payments made for services that were not rendered. The proclamation covers allegations about events that took place between 1 March 2020 and 21 November 2025. It also empowers the SIU to investigate any relevant conduct before or after this period connected to the matters under investigation, including contracts where services were paid for but not delivered.
The investigation will determine whether the media buying contracts and related payments were conducted in a manner that was not fair, competitive, transparent, equitable or cost-effective. The SIU will also examine potential violations of applicable legislation, including instructions or guidelines issued by the National Treasury. It will also assess whether procurement adhered to SA Tourism’s internal manuals, policies and procedures, particularly concerning payments for services that were not rendered.
The Chairperson said the proclamation vindicates the committee, because its oversight work has focused on governance and maladministration at SA Tourism after the entity received qualified audits for two years in a row and has awarded numerous questionable contracts.
The entity received a material irregularity finding in the Auditor-General’s 2024/25 audit for a R41 million contract in which the goods were not delivered. When the committee raised some of these issues to the Minister, she brushed them off and told the committee that “there was no crisis at South African Tourism”.
The committee commended the Department of Tourism for achieving 93.85% of its planned targets. However, a concern was raised with the recurring trend of under-spending, as the department incurred a cumulative underspending of 19% across its four programmes.
At South African Tourism, the committee welcomed some improvement in performance, as the entity achievement 98% of its targets in quarter 1, an improvement to the same period in the previous financial year. South African Tourism was encouraged to sustain this impetus for the remainder of the 2025/26 financial year.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON TOURISM, MS RONALDA NALUMANGO.
For media inquiries or interviews with the Chairperson, please contact the committee’s Media Officer:
Name: Sureshinee Govender (Ms)
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