Johannesburg - The R900 million Tottenham Hotspur deal by SA Tourism has come to haunt former SA Tourism acting CFO, Johan van der Walt, who quit after being placed on suspension for over two weeks.
Over two weeks ago, the former acting CFO was served a letter of suspension for his involvement and the conflict of interest that would have arisen in the event that the SAT board had okayed the three-year sponsorship deal with the English Premier League side.
At the time, SA Tourism Board Chairperson Thozamile Botha said Van der Walt had until Tuesday to give reasons why he should not be suspended.
Van der Walt admitted to having ties to the WWP Group, which was set to receive R31 million from the contentious sponsorship deal with English Premier League team Tottenham Hotspur.
TimesLIVE confirmed his resignation, reporting that they were informed of van der Walt's resignation by SAT board chairperson Thozamile Botha, who said the board received the letter on Thursday, February 16, 2022.
"We sent him a letter for him to state reasons why he should not be suspended. Instead of responding to say why he should not be suspended, he resigned," Botha said.
Van der Walt's departure was also confirmed in a statement by SAT spokesperson Thandiwe Mathibela, who stated that SAT is looking for a replacement.
"South African Tourism (SA Tourism) can confirm that the interim Chief Finance Officer (CFO), Mr. Johan van der Walt, resigned on the 9th of February, and the Board of South African Tourism accepted his resignation on the 14th of February."
"Johan joined South African Tourism on a seven-month contract starting January 2, 2023, following the resignation of the organisation’s CFO. The process for the recruitment of a new CFO is currently underway. For business continuity, General Manager: Financial Management, Mr. Themba Ndlovu, will be acting CFO until a permanent CFO is appointed," Mathibela said.
SAT said it will not be making any further comments beyond this statement.
The Star