Pretoria - The R1 billion potential three-year sponsorship deal between SA Tourism and English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur has been characterised as a good initiative that was being implemented at the wrong time.
Yesterday, South Africans woke up to the news that Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu was on a mission to sign the deal with the soccer club before an imminent Cabinet reshuffle that would see her getting the chop as political head of the national government portfolio.
However, her spokesperson Steve Motale flatly denied the claims and insisted that the minister was in no way involved in the deal.
“Sadly, the Daily Maverick report is riddled with inaccuracies and untruths aimed at tarnishing Minister Sisulu’s image.
“There is no doubt the report seeks to drive a political agenda rather than inform the public truthfully,” he said.
“The reporter falsely claims that Minister Sisulu is forcing SA Tourism to push the deal through before she is moved from the tourism portfolio. This is a blatant lie,” Motale said.
According to the department, Sisulu had yet to be briefed about the sponsorship deal as it fell strictly within the ambit of SA Tourism’s board, a marketing agency for the department.
“Proposals get received by the agency and are processed by a project team, then they are sent through to the executive committee before being presented to the (agency) board.
“In the various portfolios Minister Sisulu has served since the dawn of democracy, her contribution to the government speaks for itself.
“Even the report indicates that this proposal dates back to 2017, when Minister Sisulu held a different portfolio,” Motale said.
It has yet to be seen if Sisulu will institute legal proceedings against the Daily Maverick over the report.
“Minister Sisulu is in consultation with her legal team and will communicate the way forward in due course,” said Motale.
Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency board chairperson Victor Mashego said spending R1bn on the Tottenham Hotspur sponsorship was premature.
“This is a good initiative. We have witnessed similar sponsorships working for other African and Arabic countries. Unfortunately, this is not the best time to advance such a noble course.
“The amount of money we are talking about here could honestly revitalise the tourism sector.
“Mpumalanga is the second most visited tourism destination in the country. This money could be used to unlock our tourism offerings and create more jobs,” he said.
Mashego said it was all a matter of priorities.
“We are reviving airline strips in tourism attractions like Graskop, where money is needed to unlock that potential to attract visitors who can fly directly there.
“We are not saying this is a bad deal, but let’s look at our priorities. This should be something for the outer years, such as 2030, because our country is going through a lot,” Mashego said.
“Maybe the tourism ministry has facts that we don’t have.
“Maybe they have spent a considerable amount of money on SMME development and empowering local tourism producers, but if it was up to me, I would scrap the deal for now and revisit it after seven years,” he said.
DA parliamentary spokesperson on tourism, Manny de Freitas, said the party would send a Britain-stationed delegation to the English club to establish the facts.
“The plan to sponsor Tottenham is a slap in the face of every South African whose hard-earned taxes will be used to sponsor a first-world football team.
“It is also an insult to the South African tourism and travel sector which was decimated, and in many cases completely destroyed during and post- Covid-19 … The DA will do everything in its power to oppose this lunacy,” De Freitas said.
Pretoria News