New leadership raring to go

MBOMBELA – The Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency’s (MTPA) new board was announced on Thursday by the MEC for finance, economic development and tourism, Mr Eric Kholwane.

The agency had been run with an interim board for over two years and Kholwane said that was a deliberate plan by the agency to look for more skilled members who would lead the agency to greater heights. The new board’s term commenced on March 1 and it will serve for four years. Its term of office will end on February 29, 2020.

The 11-member board is chaired by Mr Thulani Nzima. Nzima who previously worked as the CEO of Tourism South Africa and is the son of Mr Sam Nzima, the photographer who captured the iconic image of 16-year-old Hector Pieterson during the 1976 Soweto Uprisings.

Nzima’s deputy is Ms Nomaswazi Rachel Shabangu-Mndawe who has served as the deputy chairperson of the Black Lawyers Association.

The MEC also mentioned that processes were in place to appoint a full-time chief operating officer (COO). Mr Abe Sibiya is currently acting in this position. The then CEO, Mr Jacques Modipane was suspended in 2014.

According to Kholwane, the board’s first challenge would be to restore the province’s position as a leader in the tourism sector. The province is well situated as a tourist destination, but of outmost concern are corrupt law-enforcement officers who solicit bribes from tourists.

“The triland agreement we have with Swaziland and Mozambique benefits the local economy and we will make sure that we take advantage of that but we also need to make sure that we address the issue of greedy traffic officers,” said Kholwane.

The MEC added that it was important for the department to prioritise tourism as a key sector in driving economic development, thus the department has allocated R345 000 000 to the agency for the 2016/17 financial year. The money would help the agency to continue to deliver on its tourism promotion and conservation management mandates. He also mentioned he had confidence in the leadership qualities of the new board.

“They have a lot of expertise in tourism and we believe they will do wonders for local tourism,” he said. The agency faces a tough road ahead as the MEC has challenged it to generate its own revenue and not to depend on the government’s fiscal for survival.