Both Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu and the acting CEO of Tourism SA, Themba Khumalo, were reprimanded for the deal.
THE END is near for the R900 million sponsorship proposal that would have seen SA Tourism sponsor English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur.
This is after Parliament’s portfolio committee on tourism lambasted and called off the recent sponsorship deal, which has had the country divided since reports on the proposed deal surfaced over a week ago.
Both Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu and the acting CEO of Tourism SA, Themba Khumalo, were reprimanded for the deal after Sisulu reportedly arrived late for the sitting.
Khumalo, who last week addressed a media briefing, was forced to apologise for his “abrasive and arrogant” handling of the matter.
Khumalo told MPs on Tuesday that he was sorry for “coming across in a manner that was arrogant and probably overconfident”.
He said his behaviour was “motivated by the fact that I was under personal attack on social media. I felt under pressure at that press briefing. Please forgive me.”
His apology came after he was lambasted by committee chairperson Tandi Mahambehlala, who said Khumalo spoke to South Africans as if he were speaking to his children.
Mahambehlala also accused Sisulu of not taking the meeting seriously after she arrived late, accusing her of missing meetings and not understanding parliamentary protocol.
“The acting CEO was talking to South Africans very arrogantly … That was an embarrassing moment for us, we did not take it lightly.
“We have had a minister who has been a law unto herself, never attended portfolio committee meetings (and) is not here on a crucial matter,” Mahambehlala said.
The committee said it wants the deal scrapped as it left out some key components, including the local football association Safa, which should have been brought in as the country’s governing body of football.
“This deal ends here and now, because there’s everything and a lot wrong about the deal itself, and we are saying there must be an investigation on this matter with immediate effect,” Mahambehlala said.
