SA Tourism-Spurs deal ‘unlawful’, says De Lille

Despite the claims of huge monetary benefits for the country, the proposed sponsorship deal between SA Tourism and Premier League football club Tottenham Hotspur is unlawful.

This is according to Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille.

“Given the circumstances we find ourselves in economically, we have to be much more careful and give consideration to everything that we do as government. Money must be spent wisely and prudently at all times as we are entrusted with public funds,” she said in a media briefing on Friday.

ALSO READ: Here’s why 3 key SA Tourism board members resigned en masse over Hotspur deal

The R900 million deal with the United Kingdom (UK)-based team was ferociously met with anger and backlash after details on the matter emerged almost two months ago, prompting three SA Tourism board members to resign.

SA Tourism, which defended the deal claiming that it would get R88 million as return on investment over a three-year period, then decided to launch an investigation to find out who leaked the information of the deal to the media.

‘Marred by a lot of controversy’

During the briefing, De Lille said legal opinion revealed that the deal was unlawful and invalid because it did not comply with the Constitution, the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and SA Tourism’s own supply chain management policy.

It appears that the sponsorship is a service which was proposed to be acquired by procurement through sole source. Sole source procurement is, however, only allowed where there is no competition in the market and only one supplier is able to provide the goods or services, which does not appear to be the case here,” she said.

RELATED: R1 billion Spurs deal won’t even get SA onto first team kits, could cost even more

She also indicated that the deal has not been budgeted for and expenditure in that regard would be irregular.

“That the deal amounts to a significant partnership transaction which required my prior approval,” the minister added.

De Lille, therefore, “advised” the SA Tourism board that the deal “may as well be stopped completely”.

“This matter has been marred by a lot of controversy and has raised many questions and we
need to resolve this matter decisively and in the best interest of the people of South Africa as
soon as possible.”

She said she understood that no deal has been signed.

[Watch Live] Minister Patricia de Lille briefs media on Tottenham Hotspur FC and SA Tourism sponsorship proposal https://t.co/cieI1iLlOM

— South African Government (@GovernmentZA) March 24, 2023

‘We owe the public an explanation’

The minister further told reporters that she has not received a full break down on how much has been spent on the deal so far.

Asked what action would be taken against SA Tourism’s board, De Lille said would engage the members as to what transpired before the deal was approved.

“I have received a number of questions from members of Parliament about the composition of the board… about the resignations of some of the board members. That matter is receiving my attention,” she continued.

“I still have to get a report about the reason for [the suspension of some board members].”

READ MORE: MPs ‘played to the gallery’, have no real power to stop Spurs deal

De Lille said she did not only looked at whether the value of the deal was justifiable, but she also considered the outcry of the public.

“Therefore, my advice to the board, considering all the factors and the priorities we need in our country, we owe the public an explanation.”

Meanwhile, SA Tourism acting CEO Themba Khumalo said the agency had a mandate to market the country on an international and domestic stage.

“In respect of the tourism sector recovery plan of 2021, that is exactly the mandate. Therefore, we continually look for opportunities in order to continue that marketing effort,” Khumalo said, adding that he could not comment whether SA Tourism was looking at similar sponsorship deals to the Spur one.