Lindiwe Sisulu Wants SA Tourism CFO Investigated Following R1bn Tottenham Hotspur Deal Saga, SA in Disbelief

Lindiwe Sisulu Wants SA Tourism CFO Investigated Following R1bn Tottenham Hotspur Deal Saga, SA in Disbelief

  • Lindiwe Sisulu is suspecting the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of South African Tourism (SAT) of misconduct
  • The Minister of Tourism wants the board of SAT to investigate Johan van der Walt for his involvement in the Tottenham Hotspur saga
  • Sisulu claims that going after whistleblowers is a waste of time because they would not have benefitted from the R1bn deal

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The Minister of Tourism Lindiwe Sisulu
The Minister of Tourism Lindiwe Sisulu said the SA Tourism CFO should be investigated for his involvement in the R1bn Tottenham Hotspur deal. Image: @lindiwesisulusa/Instagram and Julian Finney/Getty
Source: UGC

PRETORIA - The Minister of Tourism Lindiwe Sisulu wants the board of South African Tourism (SAT) to direct their investigations of the R1bn Tottenham Hotspur deal towards the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Johan van der Walt.

Sisulu said that the three board members who resigned soon after the proposed deal was exposed should not be hounded for the leaked communication between the agency and the English football club, reported TimesLIVE.

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The minister believes that searching for whistleblowers who went public with the controversial sponsorship deal is a waste of resources.

"What must be investigated are all potential transgressors that have brought the image of SA Tourism into disrepute through deliberate deceptions. This includes hidden agencies that stood to benefit from this deal."

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Sisulu's office expressed in a statement that the minister met with the board days ago and it was revealed that van der Walt hid his true intentions at three board meetings. The CFO was reportedly linked to one of the companies that stood to benefit from the sponsorship deal.

After the meeting, Sisulu gave marching orders to the board to fully look into van der Walt's conflict of interest.

South African citizens react to Lindiwe Sisulu's suspicions of SA Tourism CFO

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Febridge Lebea asked:

"How was she supposed to know that the CFO was dealing with the company facilitating the project? Van der Walt must explain himself. We can't blame her for things she has no control or knowledge of."

Richard Peebles wrote:

"Typical ANC response, shift the blame. The minister needs to accept that the buck stops with her. So tired of her undermining the constitution and the people of SA. Sisulu must go!"

Jacques Skermand said:

"The minister had to sign it off, so it's the minister's responsibility."

Leepile Kakudi posted:

"Spot on Minister. Kindly recommend that Acting CEO be suspended too."

Annes Muller added:

"Passing the blame again, the whole ANC has that virus. She knew exactly what was happening. The CEO should be fired as he lied on national television that there are no underlying issues as per this deal, yet someone was going to make a profit of around R32 million as an admin fee or commission fee."

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COPE wants Lindiwe Sisulu fired for “unacceptable behaviour” at tourism meeting, SA agrees

Earlier Briefly News reported that the Congress of the People (COPE) believes that Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu is not fit to hold her office.

This follows Sisulu’s meeting with Parliament’s Oversight Committee on Tourism over the controversial proposal to spend almost R1-billion to sponsor English football club Tottenham Hotspur.

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Source: Briefly News

Authors:
Hilary Sekgota avatar

Hilary Sekgota (Deputy Human Interest HOD) Hilary Sekgota is the Head of Desk for Evening and Weekend content at Briefly News. She completed a BA in Communication Science from Unisa in 2018 and a Diploma in Journalism from Varsity College in 2010. She also passed a set of trainings by Google News Initiative. Hilary joined the Briefly News team in 2022 and started her journalism career at Tshwane Sun. She has 12 years of experience covering current affairs and human interest topics. Email: hilary.sekgota@briefly.co.za