MyZA

News, Directory, Events and Other Stuff

You are here: Home / News / Ghost Assets, Missing Servers, and Losses Due to Potential Criminality Exposed.

Ghost Assets, Missing Servers, and Losses Due to Potential Criminality Exposed.

Statement by Haseena Ismail MP – DA Spokesperson on Tourism:

The DA will call Minister Patricia De Lille to account before Parliament for the latest scandal in her Department: critical assets unaccounted for, missing servers, and a new external investigation into fraud.

The DA will request that the Portfolio Committee on Tourism be provided with the internal verification asset report for scrutiny, and will further request the Minister and the DG account to Parliament for the steps they are taking to ensure that those responsible for this mess are dealt with.

What is worse is that De Lille was not even aware of these issues or the investigation into them. She is a Minister out of touch with her Department and distracted by matters of internal conflict, such as the SA Tourism Board debacle, too busy to appreciate the seriousness of criminality under her nose.

The Sunday Times has revealed that De Lille learned of the serious fraud investigation only through media queries. It is concerning that this sensitive information has found its way to the media before the Minister, speaking to a lack of internal oversight and Ministerial function. This is indicative of a Minister who is losing control of her department.

Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille must obtain the internal asset report and account to Parliament for the catastrophic failures it has revealed.

De Lille now faces multiple Parliamentary accountability probes:

1. Her decision to dissolve the SA Tourism Board: After the DA’s successful PAIA appeal, the Minister stated that she would share with the DA both the written and verbal legal advice she relied on to disband the Board, but the DA was later informed that no written legal advice exists.

2. The DA also highlighted how her decisions and alleged interference in the Board’s dismissal created a leadership vacuum at SA Tourism, leading to the withholding of millions of Rands worth of TOMSA levy funds.

At the same time, SA Tourism is subject to a Presidentially-assented inquiry by the Special Investigating Unit.

The latest scandal indicates that the Department has ghost assets that exist only on paper but not in reality, servers that have gone missing, the unauthorised sale of assets, and financial losses due to this suspected criminality.

Tourism is supposed to create jobs. Instead, this Department is creating losses, risks, and embarrassment. South Africans deserve a Department that can count its assets before it asks for a larger budget.

Category: Tag:

If you feel strongly about this article then feel free to send MyZA a ‘Letter to the Editor’ using the submission form below:

Letter to the Editor

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
If this is in response to an article please include that article title here or as the lead in for the first paragraph of your Letter below.

Separate tags with commas

Localise your letter by naming the city your words are about. Add relevant words describing your subject. Single comma separated words of no more than 5
Your Name(Required)
Your Name will be linked to the website below.
Your personal, business or social media web site
Choose NO to not set up a user account on MyZA. User Accounts will allow you to submit letters under your own Author Name

3 Latest Letters to the Editor:

  • Fun South African fact

    Dear Editor Fun South African fact: towns like Franschhoek and Stellenbosch are home to world-class wine farms set in stunning, scenic surroundings. Regards Aressa Smith In Response to/From: Luxury Properties Seized in New Lottery Crackdown

  • Condolences on the Passing of Lusanda Dumke

    Statement by Leander Kruger MPL – DA Buffalo City Constituency Leader: The Democratic Alliance in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality mourns the passing of Springbok Women’s rugby player and Mdantsane trailblazer, Lusanda Dumke, who lost her battle with cancer at the age of 28. South Africa has lost an exceptional athlete, a leader, and a source…

  • Rape Kits Delivered, But…

    Statement by Nicholas Gotsell MP – DA NCOP Member on Security & Justice: The DA can confirm that 2 840 rape kits arrived in Cape Town on Monday, following sustained DA oversight and pressure after multiple police stations across the Western Cape were found to be without this critical forensic evidence tool. While this delivery…

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. USA: You have two cows. You outsource a farm to milk them and sell the milk to those who can afford it. You then use the profit to buy someone else\’s cow for your butcher to make steak with.