Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille. (Photo: Gallo Images / Luba Lesolle) 
The dissolved board of South African Tourism is considering its legal recourse, former board member Lawson Naidoo confirmed to Daily Maverick, while the Southern African Tourism Services Association (Satsa) has pledged “full support” for any legal recourse.
Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille dissolved the board of South African Tourism on Tuesday, 19 August 2025 with immediate effect, citing “good cause” under Section 16 of the Tourism Act.
De Lille alleges the board had exceeded its powers by appointing a board member to carry out some of the functions of the previous chairperson and contravened its own charter by holding a special board meeting that the chairperson did not convene.
Read more: ‘The most beautiful country in the world’ — De Lille punts local tourism
The board’s last acts
Before its dissolution, the SA Tourism board had suspended former CEO Nombulelo Guliwe on Wednesday, 13 August for alleged misconduct. Naidoo confirmed that the action was based on unfair labour practices.
Central to her suspension were allegations that Guliwe removed the company’s secretary and its chief marketing officer.
De Lille has declared the suspension of CEO Guliwe by the board unlawful, insisting that “the board in its current form is not properly constituted to make such a resolution”.
De Lille maintained that her decision was rooted in governance concerns, stressing her commitment to “ensuring the adherence to sound governance principles at South African Tourism”.
However, the Chartered Governance Institute of Southern Africa (CGISA) said in a statement: “Company secretaries report to the board, not to the CEO, who thus does not have the mandate to make a unilateral decision to relieve the company secretary of his or her duties or their removal.” The CGISA further described the actions as “unsound labour practice”.
A forensic report, tabled in April this year, implicated Guliwe in alleged irregular spending tied to a R4.1-million material irregularity flagged by the Auditor-General. It recommended disciplinary action against her, as she was in the position of CFO at the time the transaction took place.
Read more: SA Tourism recovers R35-million in irregular payments, New York office under scrutiny
Naidoo noted that the board had been seeking ministerial concurrence to implement disciplinary actions since May, but hadn’t received a response from the minister either to approve or reject their concurrence.
To meet, or not to meet
Gregory Davids resigned as SA Tourism chairperson on 31 July 2024 after a vote of no confidence passed against him earlier that month. In the absence of a chair, the board adopted a digital round-robin resolution on Friday, 1 August, designating Naidoo as spokesperson.
Naidoo insists this was lawful. “We were very careful not to usurp the powers of the minister by appointing a chair or acting chair,” he said. He maintained that the board was quorate, with 10 members in place, and therefore able to function.
He further explained that the resolution was taken electronically via round-robin and that there was no actual meeting on Friday, 1 August.
De Lille’s decision rests on the opposite legal interpretation: that section 18(2) of the Tourism Act and clause 9.1.2 of the Board Charter vests the power to convene meetings only in the chairperson, rendering the 1 August resolutions unlawful.
Accusations of overreach
“A minister should not undermine the role of the board - this step is guided by specific governance processes and best practice - in the case such a decision needed to be gazetted before it could come into effect,” said Stephen Sadie, CEO of the CGISA.
He added: “The Minister also gives the impression that she is protecting the suspended CEO rather than supporting the board, who are responsible for hiring, overseeing the work of the CEO and, if necessary, also firing the CEO.”
Satsa went further, calling the minister’s move “deeply troubling and a sustained pattern of ministerial overreach, interference and inconsistency”.
Satsa argued that the board was dissolved on a “baseless and spurious technicality”, and accused De Lille of deliberately weakening the board’s governance capacity by failing to appoint a deputy chair, as required by the Tourism Act.
Unlike her 2023 dissolution of a prior board, this decision has not been gazetted, raising further concerns about the due process. De Lille has since appointed an interim board, chaired by Dr Mzamo Masito, with Kholeka Zama as deputy chair, effective 22 August 2025. A process to appoint permanent members will follow.
Sector fallout
The Tourism Business Council of South Africa “noted with concern” the developments, warning that the sector remains in fragile recovery.
Satsa accused the minister of further damaging South Africa’s standing by blocking SA Tourism’s participation in key international trade shows, citing the country’s absence from the International Golf Travel Market.
Read more: After the Bell: The critical reasons why South Africa is good at tourism
However, De Lille insisted that programmes will continue unaffected, pointing to preparations for the G20 summit in November and an inaugural Tourism Investment Summit in September.
“The perception is that in choosing to protect one individual at the expense of governance and trust, she risks doing irreparable damage to the very fabric of our sector,” said Satsa. DM