The controversial Tottenham Hotspur advertising deal came under further scrutiny on Tuesday with the Democratic Alliance’s claim that the appointments of three members to the South African Tourism Board by Minister of Tourism Lindiwe Sisulu were irregular.

DA Shadow Minister of Tourism Manny de Freitas said the legality of Sisulu’s three appointments to the board, following the resignations of Enver Duminy, Ravi Nadasen and Rosemary Anderson, had become a significant point of contention as the Minister acknowledged making the new appointments four days after receiving resignation letters from the former board members.

This revelation came at the Tourism Portfolio Committee meeting on Tuesday, the DA said. 

Clause 13(3) of the Tourism Act states that the Minister “must, before appointing Board members, publish a minimum of 30 days notice in the Government Gazette and in two national newspapers inviting nominations, and the same must be done after Board members have been appointed”, the DA said.

De Freitas said owing to Sisulu’s failure to adhere to this particular clause set out in the Tourism Act, “this potentially means that the three newly appointed board members may have been illegally appointed and any decisions and resolutions made by the board since the resignations may all be nullified”.

Sisulu maintained that the replacement of the three board members within four days was due to the urgency associated with establishing a quorum to review the Tottenham issue. 

The DA objected to this contention and said there was no evidence of a deadline regarding this deal.

De Freitas has requested that the Portfolio Committee be tasked with tabling a report in the National Assembly after launching an inquiry into the matter.