Tourism minister Patricia de Lille and the board of South African Tourism have locked horns over the board’s decision to institute disciplinary action against the entity’s now-suspended CEO over a R4.1m prepayment to a service provider for work that investigators say was never done.
At the heart of the matter is a decision by the board to suspend CEO Nombulelo Guliwe, after both the office of the auditor-general and a damning forensic audit compiled by private forensic investigations firm Ngubane found she and two other executives no longer employed by the state-owned entity had authorised a R4.1m prepayment to Joburg-based production agency, WWP Group. The prepayment was to carry out marketing activities for South African Tourism at the Dubai Expo in 2021.
Both reports concluded that WWP Group was paid for a service it never rendered, a charge the company vehemently denies. The forensic report has recommended that Tourism South Africa either get the agency to repay the money, or recoup it from Guliwe, who was CFO at the time of the transaction, and from two other former executives, including Themba Khumalo, who was chief marketing officer, and former vice-president of corporate communications Altaaf Kazi — all of whom authorised the prepayment.
South African Tourism is the marketing agency of the government, tasked with promoting the country domestically and internationally as a leisure, business and events tourism destination.
The Dubai Expo 2020, a grand exhibition hosted by the United Arab Emirates to showcase the enclave, took place in December 2021 after being disrupted by worldwide Covid lockdowns. According to the Emirati government, 24-million people attended the expo.
South Africa’s official delegation was led by the department of trade, industry & competition, supported by other departments and state entities, including South African Tourism.
In July 2020 South African Tourism contracted the production agency to develop an activation concept inside a specially-erected dome, complete with visual productions showcasing South Africa as a leisure and business events destination.
The cost was set at R8,376,678. On July 7 the next year, the company submitted an invoice for 50% upfront payment, or an amount of R4,188,339.97. The request was processed by Kazi on July 11, approved by Khumalo on July 12, and finally by Guliwe on July 14. Payment was made two days later on July 16.
Both the auditor-general and the Ngubane reports concluded that the payment should not have been made as there was no specific clause in the service level agreement between South African Tourism and the production agency making provision for an upfront payment. Treasury regulations on sound cash management prohibit upfront payments for goods and services unless this is stated under contractual agreement with supplier — and valid reasons for such prepayments are clearly stated.
South African Tourism had initially budgeted R40m for what was supposed to be a six-month jamboree in Dubai, covering multiple workstreams. However, a cabinet memo on cost savings forced the board to reduce the budget for the expo from R40m to R10m, covering everything, including travel.
In October 2021, WWP Group sent an e-mail to South African Tourism indicating it would no longer be possible to do the dome activation “due to missing production timelines”.
In an audit finding communicated in April 2024, the auditor-general’s office deemed the prepayment fruitless and wasteful expenditure because of noncompliance with Treasury regulations.
“The prepayment, therefore, ought to have been paid back to South African Tourism as there was no service rendered, notwithstanding that the prepayment was not supposed to have been made as the contract had no stipulation for prepayments.”
This finding was reinforced by Ngubane's forensic report, which found the prepayment was irregular and in contravention of Treasury regulations.
“The investigation could not confirm that South African Tourism received the value in respect of dome activities, and therefore the whole amount was regarded fruitless and wasteful expenditure,” the forensic investigators said.
The Ngubane report recommended consequence management against Guliwe, as she was the only one of the three officials who authorised the payment who were still employed by the state entity. It also recommended the money be recouped from the company, or all the officials responsible.
Contacted for comment on Friday, South African Tourism referred all queries to De Lille’s office.
Kazi said he had not been approached, nor formally notified of the forensic report.
“This is the first time I have heard of its alleged findings and recommendations,” he said, before referring questions back to South African Tourism.
Khumalo, who resigned as South African Tourism's chief marketing officer and acting CEO in May 2023, after an outcry over a controversial proposal to spend R1bn on a marketing deal with English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, did not respond to a request for comment.
Jermaine Tumelo Besten, CEO of WWP Group, vehemently denied his company was paid for services that were never rendered.
“WWP Group categorically refutes that claim and has consistently done so since we were first alerted in September 2024. We have written multiple times to South African Tourism leadership and both the previous and current boards, seeking to clear our name.”
He told the Sunday Times they had made numerous requests to be furnished with copies of both the forensic report and findings of the auditor-general, without any success.
Besten said because the Dubai Expo was a six-month project with multiple streams, his company assigned a dedicated full-time team that worked for five months until they were advised that the Treasury had cut the budget and only one stream would continue.
“At that point, we provided South African Tourism with a reconciliation and issued a credit note for unspent funds from the R4.1m prepayment,” he said.
The board acted unlawfully and [exceeded] its powers when it convened a special meeting, at which [it] took a resolution ... to appoint Mr Lawson Naidoo as a representative of the board with powers to communicate and implement on behalf of the board,” the minister said in a written response to questions
— Patricia de Lille, tourism minister
He insisted that he had proof the work they were contracted for was done.
“Following the auditor-general’s recommendation, South African Tourism withheld the amount of R4,188,338.97 in November 2024, pending investigation. We had already responded to the initial notification in September 2024, and subsequently wrote to the South African Tourism board in January 2025 to raise concerns about the recovery process.”
This week the board announced it had placed Guliwe on precautionary suspension next serious allegations of misconduct.
But De Lille issued a statement declaring the decision null and void, saying the board was improperly constituted as it no longer had a chair or a deputy chair after the resignation of Prof Gregory Davids.
However, the Sunday Times understands that the board immediately shot back at De Lille, reminding her she had ignored repeated requests to appoint a chair.
A highly placed South African Tourism insider said board members were unhappy at what they perceived as De Lille’s attempts to frustrate their efforts to hold the suspended CEO accountable, but insisted they would not back down.
“The delegation of authority says the board needs the minister’s concurrence to institute disciplinary action but not to suspend,” the insider said.
On Saturday a defiant De Lille stuck to her guns, saying she had obtained legal advice indicating that all decisions taken by the board on August 1 were unlawful.
“The board acted unlawfully and [exceeded] its powers when it convened a special meeting, at which [it] took a resolution ... to appoint Mr Lawson Naidoo as a representative of the board with powers to communicate and implement on behalf of the board,” the minister said in a written response to questions.
“A special board can only be convened by the chairperson in terms of ... the board charter, which was approved by the South African Tourism board [last year]. This was not the case. The board had no chairperson at the time when it convened the special meeting.”
De Lille said she would “apprise” the tourism sector on developments at South African Tourism on Tuesday.
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