Pretoria – The controversial nearly one billion rand sponsorship deal with English Premiership side Tottenham Hotspur FC is finally off.
Announcing the abandoning of the proposed deal, Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille on Thursday said: “The SA Tourism Board will no longer proceed with the transaction, nor will it seek the concomitant requisite approvals for the proposed transaction.”
De Lille said, as earlier requested, she received a response from the SA Tourism Board chairperson regarding the proposed sponsorship deal.
“In a letter from the SA Tourism Board chairperson, based on the advice I have given to the board and which I had publicly stated, that the deal should not proceed, the SA Tourism Board has agreed not to proceed with the proposal.”
The controversy around the cost of the proposed sponsorship deal first surfaced in early February, resulting in the resignation of at least three top SA Tourism officials.
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De Lille, the new tourism minister, had given the SA Tourism Board until Wednesday this week to heed her advice not to go ahead with the ill-fated sponsorship deal.
“The use of public funds must be carefully considered and for any department to fulfil its mandate, it must be done in a cost effective way, exploring multiple options and with due consideration for all priorities,” Minister De Lille said.
“Our justification for any significant spending must still make sense in terms of the broader economic climate we find ourselves in as a country.
“In this regard, I look forward to continuing to engage SA Tourism’s board and executive management, as I have done in my first two weeks in office.”
The minister said this matter was now concluded.
“We will continue working together to explore all avenues, create the environment conducive for the private sector to invest and crowd in on government initiatives within the legislative framework to grow tourism, welcome more visitors to our beautiful country and create more jobs for people in this sector,” De Lille said.
