De Lille’s dismantling of SA Tourism board signals alarming erosion of governance in South Africa

Something has to give. When a tourism minister dismantles a board that was doing its job, holding executive management to account, plain and simple, governance loses. South Africa loses. Patricia de Lille’s abrupt sacking of the South African Tourism (SAT) board last week is not just reckless, it’s a symptom of the rot that continues to spread through our institutions.

In any functioning democracy, boards of public entities must be populated by people with expertise, not political allegiance. But too often in South Africa they become soft landings for political loyalists. Governance collapses when political patronage trumps professional competence, and when ministers undermine the very systems meant to ensure accountability. Political interference is especially dangerous when it shields executives accused of serious misconduct, sending a clear signal that loyalty protects you and competence gets you fired.

A board that was doing its job

The SAT board, appointed in September 2024 by De Lille herself, included respected tourism industry leaders and governance experts. By all credible reports, they were tackling real problems within SA Tourism. The board had placed the CEO, Nombulelo Guliwe, on precautionary suspension in mid-August 2025, following concerns that she bypassed fair labour processes and attempted to remove executives without proper board consultation, along with issues that included a R4.1-million irregular prepayment flagged by the Auditor-General and an independent forensic audit. One gets the picture that her conduct was unsuitable for a CEO, and the board was acting responsibly to deal with it.

The plot thickens

In Mid-July, after months of inaction to carry out his fiduciary duties and leadership responsibilities, the SAT board members passed an overwhelming vote of no confidence in the chairperson of the board, Professor Gregory Davids. This vote was communicated to the minister on 17 July 2025, along with a call for her to appoint a new chairperson and deputy chair. 

Among other things, the board accused the chairperson of: 

• Failing to deal with unresolved issues raised by the former chair of the SAT Audit and Risk Committee;
• Failing to facilitate a performance evaluation of the CEO;
• Failing to act on matters that required communication with the minister; and
• Poor leadership conduct that eroded the board’s confidence and trust in him.

What did the minister do? Nothing. She looked away. The heat was on and the chairperson resigned two weeks later, on 31 July. The minister made no attempt to meet the board, to discuss the gravity and the facts of their concerns. Instead of backing this board’s oversight role, De Lille moved fast to dissolve the board. Her stated reason: the board allegedly convened a meeting on 1 August, the day after Davids resigned. The minister maintains that the meeting was technically “irregular”. But former board members insist that the meeting never took place. If true, her justification collapses entirely. 

The minister’s own governance failures

Even if we take her technical argument at face value, many questions arise that point to the lapses in governance that lie squarely at the minister’s feet. For instance:

• Why did she fail to appoint a deputy chair when the board was constituted in September 2024?;

• Why did she ignore the board’s communication in mid-July, which raised a vote of no confidence in the chairperson, requesting her to have him replaced?;

• Why did she not meet the board to discuss these serious allegations? After all, this was the board of the body that consumed most of the annual budget of the Tourism Ministry; and

• Why did she not plan to replace Davids with a new chairperson, once she knew he was about to resign? After all, she was able to introduce a six-member team within a couple of days of dissolving the board, making her earlier inaction indefensible.

By neglecting succession planning and then pouncing on a technicality, De Lille left a functioning, reform-minded board vulnerable, and one could accuse her of deliberately setting up the board to fail. In effect, she sabotaged the very oversight she was constitutionally obliged to support.

The consequences: economic sabotage

This is not a harmless bureaucratic spat – it is a full-blown assault on accountability with real economic consequences. Tourism is one of South Africa’s most critical job-creating sectors. It thrives on trust, continuity and effective leadership. The Tourism Business Council of South Africa, the Southern African Tourism Services Association and other industry leaders have affirmed that the minister’s decision to dissolve the SAT board brought instability to the industry, which it can ill afford today.

The timing could not be worse. With the G20 Summit, the Tourism Investment Summit and Tourism Month on the horizon, the sector needs credibility, not chaos. The minister’s move looks less like prudent governance and more like economic sabotage by the very custodian of tourism.

A broader pattern of political interference

What happened at SAT is not unique. From Eskom to Transnet, Prasa, SAA and across many of the Setas in higher education, South Africans have witnessed the same destructive cycle: Either boards are left unchallenged to allow inept or morally bankrupt executives to ply their unethical conduct, or competent boards are sidelined when they threaten entrenched interests. Political loyalists in state institutions are protected, even when their performance is found seriously wanting. This pattern of ministerial interference has corroded public trust, driven investment away and cost the country jobs. De Lille’s decision fits this broader, corrosive trend.

Motives and speculation

It’s no wonder that many will view De Lille’s conduct as shielding CEO Guliwe. As the late Pravin Gordhan was once quoted as saying under such circumstances: “Just join the dots.” What is undeniable is that her decision has the effect of protecting a CEO facing serious allegations, while removing a board that was pursuing accountability. This outcome undermines governance and emboldens misconduct.

What should happen next

Three urgent steps or options are needed:

1. Parliamentary oversight: The tourism portfolio committee should urgently call on the past board to explain their concerns and then summon the minister to account for her actions and failure of governance;

2. Legal action: The outgoing board should seriously consider seeking an urgent interdict to reverse the dissolution. Courts have precedent in overturning irrational ministerial decisions; and

3. Presidential responsibility: If De Lille cannot acknowledge her poor judgement, the President should act. Ministers are meant to be guardians of governance, not its demolition catalysts. The President would be well advised to remove De Lille. He has removed ministers and deputies for lesser offences in the past.

The bottom line

South Africa cannot afford political agendas to dictate the fate of key public institutions. We need leaders committed to professionalism, not patronage; to oversight, not subversion. Civil society is watching. Business is watching. The world is watching as South Africa tries to rebuild credibility.

Minister De Lille, step up. Prove that your legacy will be one of strengthening governance, not shielding the unscrupulous at the expense of the nation. And if you cannot, then step aside.