Parliament’s portfolio committee on tourism will seek a formal legal opinion on the dissolution of the SA Tourism (SAT) board, as the dispute between minister Patricia de Lille and the ousted directors heads for a high court hearing on October 14.
In an urgent application lodged in the Pretoria high court, the former board members argue that the minister’s August 19 decision was procedurally and substantively unlawful.
Central to their case is the contention that the August 1 meeting, cited by De Lille as irregular, was in fact validly constituted under section 20(1) of the Tourism Act, which permits resolutions to be adopted by written consent without a physical meeting.
The court papers state that at the time of the meeting the chairperson had resigned, the deputy chair position was vacant, and the CEO had suspended key executives.
In those circumstances, they argue, the board remained quorate and empowered under section 18 of the act to appoint a “board representative” to perform certain functions.
They maintain that the board charter relied on by the minister to challenge the meeting’s validity is subordinate to the enabling legislation and cannot be used to invalidate a resolution taken in compliance with the act.
The applicants further allege that the minister’s stated reasons for dissolution — including governance failures, fiscal mismanagement and the CEO’s suspension — were never put to them for comment before the decision was taken, in breach of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act.
They contend that the minister’s reliance on post‑hoc justifications in her parliamentary briefing underscores the procedural unfairness of the process.
De Lille, in her submission to the committee, reiterated that the August 1 meeting was not convened in accordance with the act or the charter, and that the resolution to appoint a “board representative” with powers akin to a chairperson exceeded the board’s authority.
She also cited R900,000 in operational expenditure within six months, more than 60% of the annual allocation, and the failure to fill the CFO post vacated in August 2024 despite written directives in June and July to address the vacancy.
Committee chair Ronalda Nalumango said the legal advice from Parliament’s Legal Services would be critical in determining whether the dissolution complied with the Tourism Act and the Public Finance Management Act.
The committee urged the minister to consider reinstating the board pending the outcome of the legal opinion and the court process.
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