Dear Editor
Ivo Vegter’s piece last week, ‘Incompetent planners to decimate small tourism businesses’, brought to mind an email I received recently from a group of South African Tourism (SAT) employees in which they raised concerns about the ‘abuse of power’ and the continued harassment, bullying and rudeness on the part of SAT’s acting Chief Operations Office (COO), Nomasonto Ndlovu.
The email claims that Ndlovu is ‘unavailable to deal with operations’, is ‘completely incompetent even as a COO’ and ‘does not have the integrity and capacity to lead SAT’.
The email claims that ‘important documents are not reviewed on time or delayed and signed late’, that ‘her main priority is social engagements and travel’ and that she has caused ‘capacity problems in Human Capital’.
This email is yet another example of how it appears that Ndlovu is not the correct person to serve as SAT COO, particularly in the light of allegations made in a 2017 KPMG report into the Dinokeng Festival Investigation, when Ndlovu was Group Head: Communication, Marketing and Events for Tshwane at the time.
It has been over a month now since I wrote to the Minister of Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille, providing her with a copy of the KPMG report which proposed that the City of Tshwane should consider action against Nomasonto Ndlovu. Although the Dinokeng Festival matter is a separate process, the KPMG report should have at least triggered questions into a top official such as the SAT COO. The recent removal of SAT CEO responsibilities from Ndlovu is just not good enough.
Statements by the Minister that they are investigating allegations of corruption presented by whistle-blowers against Ndlovu are simply not turning into real action. It appears that this is nothing more than mere rhetoric as, despite unambiguous claims having been made, the allegations against her have seemingly not been addressed. Ndlovu now appears to be a reputational risk for SAT and tourism, yet it seems she is being ‘protected’ by the Minister and the SAT Board.
Watch this space, and expect more drama to unfold … while the Minister and the SAT Board do nothing.
Manny de Freitas MP
Shadow Minister of Tourism
Member of Parliament for Johannesburg South
Democratic Alliance