Dear Editor
The DA will write to the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Tourism to request Minister Patricia de Lille’s appearance before the Committee, and to compel the provision of key documents relating to governance failures at SA Tourism. These include the Minister’s legal opinion, the Ngubane Forensic Report, and the Abacus Forensic Report, all of which relate directly to Guliwe’s conduct at SA Tourism.
This is after De Lille’s replies to the DA’s written parliamentary questions revealed a troubling pattern of denial and possible misleading of Parliament.
Minister De Lille’s own responses make it clear that she is either hopelessly out of touch with what is happening in her department, or she is deliberately misleading Parliament.
De Lille claims she was unaware of governance issues at SA Tourism until 10 June 2025, despite the Auditor-General having already identified a material irregularity relating to the R4.1 million WWP transaction in July 2024.
This forms part of a consistent pattern. When confronted with serious issues on her watch, the Minister either claims ignorance or shifts the blame to officials.
Most blatantly, De Lille asserts there were no concerns surrounding now-suspended SA Tourism CEO Nombulelo Guliwe when she was appointed in February 2024. This is demonstrably false. Guliwe received a written warning in 2021, when she was CFO, for her involvement in unlawful and non-compliant tender processes relating to the Swift and Letsema transactions. This is the very same type of issue that led to her suspension in August this year.
To make matters worse, Guliwe sailed through her probation period despite serious concerns about her performance and integrity. During this time, De Lille dismissed former Board Chair Makhosazana Khanyile – while Khanyile was consulting legal experts on how to address the Auditor-General’s findings against Guliwe in September 2024. Khanyile had provided De Lille with information about these findings in August, yet the Minister failed to respond.
De Lille’s version of events simply does not add up. Testimony from multiple former board members has been unanimous: they raised these issues with De Lille, only to be met with silence or delays. Whether through inaction or interference, the buck stops with her.
Compounding the problem, De Lille continues to hide behind “legal privilege” to withhold a legal opinion relating to the most recent dissolved board from the Portfolio Committee. This is despite the clear public interest in Parliament being able to perform its oversight role.
Her refusal to come clean is precisely why the DA has referred her conduct to the Public Protector. If the Minister will not be transparent voluntarily, she must be compelled to do so.
Regards
Haseena Ismail MP
DA Spokesperson on Tourism