ATC230519: Report of the Portfolio Committee on Tourism on Provincial Oversight Visit to North West Province, Dated 5 May 2023

Tourism

Report of the Portfolio Committee on Tourism on Provincial Oversight Visit to North West Province, Dated 5 May 2023

The Portfolio Committee on Tourism, having undertaken an oversight visit on tourism infrastructure development projects to North West Province on 18-21 April 2023, reports as follows:

Introduction

The Committee sought approval to undertake a provincial oversight visit to North West Province to make a follow up on tourism infrastructure development projects. The Committee recognised that the impact of COVID-19 in the Tourism Sector has placed more emphasis on domestic tourism. South Africa has a variety of heritage and cultural sites that serve as tourism attractions, particularly in rural provinces such as North West.

The Department of Tourism (later referred to as the Department) has presented its National Rural Tourism Strategy. The strategy is meant to enhance the growth and development of tourism in rural communities, particularly in less visited provinces. The Department has developed this National Rural Tourism Strategy to package rural tourism products and opportunities into priority spatial nodes that have the potential to stimulate the growth of rural tourism. The strategy brings together municipalities, product owners and relevant stakeholders and supports local capacity building and training initiatives.

Furthermore, the Committee is of strong view that government should be undertaking far-reaching measures to unleash the potential of small businesses, micro businesses and informal businesses, particularly in rural provinces. The Committee’s own analysis of the current economic climate and its implications for tourism, supported by the Tourism Sector Recovery Plan, highlights the following strategies going forward to Recover Tourism, that the Department should pursue:

Implement norms and standards for safe operations across the value chain to enable safe travel and rebuild traveller confidence.
Stimulate domestic demand through targeted initiatives and campaigns.
Strengthen the supply side through resource mobilisation and investment facilitation.
Support for the protection of core tourism infrastructure and assets.
Execute a marketing programme to reignite the demand.
Review the tourism policy to provide enhanced support for sector growth and development.

The Committee has also noted that South Africans do not have a culture of travel within their own country. This was worsened by two years of COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions; and high levels of unemployment. However, the Limpopo Province seems to have broken this trend as it occupies the top spot in terms of domestic tourism. As a result, the Committee visited this province, and reported to the House.

Next in the committee programme was North West Province. The interest of the Committee was to assess how domestic tourism in North West is compared to other Provinces. The Committee undertook the oversight visit to ascertain how the province manages domestic tourism, tourism development, marketing and growth. This was coupled with assessing the general state of tourism in Province, and placing more emphasis on domestic tourism, and tourism infrastructure development projects in the Dr. Ruth Mompati; Modiri Molema and Bojanala Platinum District Municipalities in the North West Province.

Background

As far back as 2013, the previous Committee made a recommendation to the Department that a turn-around strategy for all Social Responsibility Initiative (SRI) projects (Working for Tourism infrastructure projects as now called) which were not operational needed to be developed before the end of the 2013/14 financial year. However, nothing happened in this regard.

After persistent recommendations by the Committee for the Department to improve the implementation and develop internal capacity, the Department acquired the services of the Government Technical Advisory Centre (GTAC). This culminated in a list of projects to be discontinued and those to be retained for further implementation and maintenance. However, the departmental internal incapacity in implementing infrastructure projects continued.

The Committee raised these matters with the Office of the Auditor-General (AG) as there was a concern that the Department continued to receive clean and unqualified audit opinions despite the glaring evidence of poor planning, lack of internal capacity and suspected misappropriation of funds in the infrastructure projects. The Committee persistently requested the Auditor-General to go beyond auditing the Annual Financial Statements and include Performance Audits on infrastructure projects. The response from the Auditor-General was that at that time the audit was only confined to financial statements and related matters. As such, the Department continued with the rampant poor implementation of infrastructure projects.

It was only in the 2018/19 financial year that the Auditor-General conducted the performance audit for the tourism infrastructure projects. The AG findings confirmed what the Committee had been raising over a number of years.

The Auditor-General found that the Department had incurred R119.84 million in fruitless and wasteful due to poor implementation of the Working for Tourism Infrastructure projects. This was the amount incurred over a number of years. It should be noted that this amount was nowhere near the full scale of the problem as the Auditor-General was unable to quantify some of the information. This led to the Department receiving a qualified audit opinion. The major cause identified by the Auditor-General was that management did not have the required skills to enable accounting and oversight of infrastructure projects.

The oversight visit to North West Province, therefore, included oversight on the historical and new infrastructure projects as implementation continues to be a challenge in the Department. The Department is implementing a number of infrastructure projects in North West Province, some of them are in Dr. Ruth Mompati; Modiri Molema and Bojanala Platinum District municipalities. The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) has been contracted by the Department to assist in implementing infrastructure projects. The oversight, therefore, included assessment of how the intervention by the DBSA has / has not improved implementation of infrastructure projects in the North West Province.

Objectives

The purpose and objectives of the oversight visit sought to achieve the following:

To assess and evaluate integration of tourism priorities amongst the three spheres of government.
To ascertain provincial support for growth of the tourism industry to the public, private partnerships, and broader community.
Support for development of SMMEs.
Assess the extent of grading and compliance by establishments.
Support for the development of tourism products and attractions.
Implementation of EPWP (Working for Tourism) related projects, including their contribution in overall creation of job opportunities;
Provincial tourism sector’s contribution to job creation and economic growth.
Tourism infrastructure development and support;
Training projects conducted by the Department of Tourism,
Implementation and economic impact of Home Stays in North West, and
Impact of COVID-19 in the sector and the provincial government management and response thereof to date.

The Committee also wanted to assess a wide array of other programmes included in the Annual Performance Plan of the Department. The Objective was to conduct oversight on:

Investment projects whereby funding is provided by the private sector and the Department only plays a facilitation and supporting role,
Implementation projects wherein the Department is providing funding for infrastructure projects;
Projects supported through the Green Tourism Incentive Programme, and
Training and enterprise development programmes support Women in Tourism and youth.

Delegation

The delegation consisted of the following members and support staff:

Political Party	Members
African National Congress	Hon. T Mahambehlala, MP (Chairperson) Hon. L.S Makhubela-Mashele, MP Hon. S Maneli, MP Hon. MM Gomba, MP Hon. E Myeni, MP Hon. P Mpushe, MP
Democratic Alliance	Hon. MSF De Freitas, MP Hon. H Ismael, MP
Economic Freedom Fighters	Hon. A Matumba, MP
Inkatha Freedom Party	Hon. KP Sithole, MP
	Support staff: Mr. Jerry Boltina, Committee Secretary Dr. Sibusiso Khuzwayo, Content Advisor Ms. Nozuko Mnyovu, Committee Assistant

Committee oversight work

Goal 8 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) deals with promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all. The tourism SDG entails that by 2030, governments should devise and implement policies to promote sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products. Job creation programme augers well with national priorities, with the tourism sector being a thread running through the National Development Plan.

In line with these SDGs, the government priorities in relation to tourism include:

Decent employment through inclusive economic growth;
Comprehensive rural development; and
Creating better South Africa, and contributing to a better and safer Africa and a better world.

These measures are meant to assist and continue to position South Africa as a destination of choice on community-based tourism, leisure tourism, business events, and to grow the economy and the tourism industry in particular. In this regard, the Committee continues to conduct oversight over the Department and South African Tourism to monitor the achievement of the government outcomes through tourism. The Committee oversight visit, therefore, contributed to the execution of the tourism mandate by conducting oversight on the work done by the Executive on tourism infrastructure development projects. The infrastructure development projects are in three categories, that is, projects supported through investment promotion and facilitation efforts; Tourism Incentive Programme; and Community-Based Tourism Programme. Oversight to North West included the following:

Site visit to Legaga La Nkwe Game Lodge

The Committee was informed that this project will develop a four-star luxury tented game lodge at Koedoesfontein Farm. The feasibility study has been completed and the estimated project costs is at R47 million. It was also indicated that the Koedoesfontein farm currently houses three revenue generating activities, which are, agricultural crop farming, livestock breeding and game hunting. The Department provides project promotion and facilitation support to the project including elements of investment promotion. There is a project champion, the Mputsu Farm. With regard to the current status of the project, the project owner is awaiting finalisation of regulatory approvals, the Environmental Impact Assessment in particular, which has delayed the implementation of the project and the project is under consideration by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) for funding. The Department provided a letter of support to the project indicating that once all regulatory approvals are finalized (including rezoning), the project will be assisted with finding a credible operator and an equity partner. The project has already been introduced to potential operating partners to explore partnerships.

5.1.1 Findings

The Committee visited the project site and met Mr Thabo Molawu who informed the delegation that he bought the farm in 2017 with a loan from the bank. The previous owner abandoned the project. On conducting due diligence, he discovered that the Environmental Impact Assessment was not done by the previous owner, Mr. Durandt Botha. The current owner embarked on an expansion programme for the project to be fully operational. The North West Parks Board, and the provincial Department of Environmental Affairs are assisting the owner. The activities in the farm include: trophy hunting and game drives. The only activity currently is hunting. The farm has not yet received authorisation to proceed with hunting throughout the year, but use restrictions provided by government. Hunting commences on 1 May to 1 August each year, and there are 14 different animal species on the farm. The current operations on culling is to balance ratio. There are protocols in place employed when doing culling of animals. For example, a springbok cannot survive the area due to local conditions. It was also indicated that clients who visit the farm preferred self-catering facilities. Mr Molawu informed the Committee that his parents donated the road to municipality and the road was constructed, but the family was never compensated. The farm will require 20 units to accommodate tourists per year. The farm currently has 3 existing units. The project has a business proposal estimated at R47 million. There are processes under way to finalise Environmental Impact Assessment. The process is almost at the end of approval. The first owner was not compliant on a number of things in the farm that the project has to take care of in order to be compliant.

5.1.2 Role of the National Department of Tourism

The Department indicated that the place is underdeveloped, and the Department started supporting the project in 2017. The key issue was the mobilisation of funders. The banks were reluctant to invest in the business. Some banks wanted the 60 per cent – 40 per cent ratio on investment in the business. Sun City is closer to the area and potential for linkages exists. In general, the challenge was that all the tourism infrastructure projects submitted to the Department were not properly designed and investment ready. The equity partners are then required to come and partner for successful business ventures to succeed. Some of the projects may require repackaging.

Site visit to Manyane Lodge

In November 2016, the Department reported to the Committee in Parliament that the project was 90 per cent complete. Additional funding was needed to complete the project. Kitchen unit fittings were at 95 per cent completed. Preparation of the ring beam slab was on-going. This deliverable was at 40 per cent completed. Internal and external doors were fitted. This deliverable item was at 85 per cent. The pavement of parking was on-going. This deliverable was at 90 per cent completed. The Budget allocated to the project was R47.5 million, and the expenditure as at the time of reporting was R46.9 million, and the remaining budget was estimated at R580, 998.00. The North West Parks and Tourism Board was reported as the owning Agency. The project implementer was Re AAGA Infrastructure (Pty) Ltd. The Department at the time reported that the Manyane Lodge project included the refurbishment of existing chalets, and the construction of 10 new executive chalets, a conference facility and a 250-seat restaurant. The Committee visited the Manyane Game Lodge to compare what is existing on paper and on the ground. The Committee found that the facility is completely vandalised and neglected, deserted and non-functioning.

Mr Isaac Mottsoare, Project Manager of Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) stated to the Committee that once all work processes are finalised for implementation of the infrastructure project, the Bank will:

Refurbished all the chalets in the facility;
Fix the entire structures of the facility;
Refurbish the conference hall;
All work that has not been completed, will be finalised;
DBSA placed out a tender and no one tendered and had to re-advertise;
As a result, there are no activities taking place at the project and the place is not maintained.

Ms Shamilla Chettiar, Deputy Director-General of the Department, stated that in 2016, the project had a budget of R47, 884,114 million, of this amount R36 million was taken by Expanded Public Works Programme requirements, and R11 million was used to pay wages. The project implementer Re AAGA Infrastructure (Pty) Ltd wanted additional funding due to cost escalation.

The Department approached the Government Technical Advisory Centre (GTAC) to assess the projects implemented by the Department. GTAC identified mainly incomplete and stalled projects and determined a plan of action for each and costed it. The GTAC process was completed in 2017, and advised the Department to proceed with the work at Manyane Lodge.

Mr Thomas Netshidzati of the Department informed the Committee that back in 2010, the provincial Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism submitted a request for funding. In the request, a scope of work was done. Additional 10 chalets, Administration Block and pavement were added.

During the break in implementation when the GTAC process was about to start, Manyane Lodge was badly vandalised. Items were stolen by unknown people, such as cables, lights and others. About 9 cases were opened for stolen goods with South African Police Service (SAPS).

Development Bank of Southern Africa plan action for Manyane Lodge include the following work to be done:

Refurbish all the areas in the facility;
Reinstall electricity in the facility;
Reconnect water;
Install Security gates and toilets;
The tender for the work will commence in the following week of 24-28 April 2023.

Site visit to Barolong Boora Tshidi Traditional Council

The Committee had an opportunity to visit the Royal House of the Barolong Boora Tshidi, to meet and greet the King, and also to seek permission to visit the area under the jurisdiction of the King. Unfortunately, the King was not available but had been informed about the pending Committee visit to the Royal House. After exchanges of pleasantries, the Committee was well received, and granted permission to proceed with its oversight work in the area.

Site visit to Lotlamoreng Dam in Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality

The Department told the Committee that the professional service provider has been appointed and concluded the planning activities for the project. The procurement of a contractor will commence shortly.

Although the work of the Department of Tourism has not yet commenced in the Lotlamoreng Dam, the Committee was confronted by the community on the work opportunities available and given to people who are not in the surrounding communities during the construction of a community hall by the Department of Agriculture, Land and Rural Development and also promises were made by Ministers and Deputy Ministers who visited the area that were never fulfilled.

The Community of the area raised the following issues to be considered by National Assembly from Lotlamoreng Economic Development Forum:

The main contractors who are contracted by government or national departments should take into account the local communities to be considered.
All the necessary steps should be taken to engage all Districts of the North West Province on available / coming projects.
Previous promises made by Ministers and Deputy Ministers were never fulfilled, and communities are still waiting.
Project plan for Lotlamoreng Dam by the Department of Tourism.
Rural Development should not be about infrastructure only, there should community programmes to alleviate the economy of the area.
Youth training and capacity building programmes.
Maintenance programme where the infrastructure exists.
Some community members who worked during the construction of the community hall were not paid.
In some instances, community will discover the project is still on but the money for payment of workers is finished.
No proper community participation before the project commenced.
Provincial department should involve the local communities.
Development of future plan to sustain community projects.
The Ward has a lot of indigent people, there is an urgent need to develop platforms for development.
There was no proper hand over of the project to community after it was completed, as a result, this is now a white elephant in the community.
There is a Heritage Site in the area that needed to be developed, to attract the visitors.

Committee meeting with the community agreed as follows:

There was no reason for the Committee of Parliament to be accompanied by Police when visiting communities.
By August 2023, the Committee will go back to that community to provide feedback. Therefore:
- Intergovernmental projects in government require a meeting with the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, so that departments can complement each other in community projects.
- The invitations will be forwarded to the Mayor and Ward Councillor for the next community engagement.
- Skills development programme should be incorporated.
- Appointment of main contractors from else without considering availability in North West must be attended to.
- The 30 per cent of local content to contractors will be attended to.
- The third phase of development of the project must engage local community. This engagement will also assist to the extent to which the projects are vandalized by communities and for safe guarding.
- There was a need to involve young people in the community and identify the white elephant projects.
- The Committee will do an announced visit, and time frames will be given, so that the community is on board.
- The Committee will ensure that businesses follow database processes, in order for businesses in the Province to benefit.
- DBSA must ensure local businesses are compliant with laws and regulations.
- The Committee will write to the Leader of Government Business about the unfulfilled promises by the members of Cabinet.

Meeting with Women in Tourism (WiT) (North West Province Chapter)

The Committee had an opportunity to meet with the North West Province Chapter of Women in Tourism. Women in Tourism is a structure that was established to champion the needs of women. It was established to ensure that women are respected, recognized, represented and rewarded in the sector. It is also meant to identify mechanisms to address the barriers faced by women in the tourism sector. The majority of the workforce in tourism is made up of women. The United Nations WTO data say that it represents 54 percent of total number of employers in the sector.

The purpose of the engagement was to share with the Committee challenges faced by the Women in Tourism in North West Province:

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, WiT never received enough support from government.
The bad state of roads in the Province is draining the economy and affecting businesses.
No proper support from the National Department of Tourism received.
Internet connectivity is huge challenge facing businesses.
No support received, and most women businesses are in a form informal tuck-shops.
Mushrooming of informal accommodation that is not compliant with statutory requirements.
Lack of support from District and Local municipalities.
The North West Province is rural in nature, and requires a lot of support for economy to generate more jobs for the unemployed.

The Committee noted that:

There seemed to be a problem with the general state of roads in Province.
Illegal businesses should be managed through Municipal bylaws.
The information must be referred to the Department so that it can be processed.
Across the country, informal accommodation is a challenge, therefore businesses should be regulated by a number of regulations.
The Committee indicated the matter will be taken to the Department of Cooperative Governance (Cogta) and Department of Transport.
The Committee will require a report from the Department on support provided to Women in Tourism.
Illegal accommodation establishments will have to be visited by South African Police Service, and addresses of illegal operations must be forwarded to the Chairperson.
The Committee will make time to interact with Women in Tourism, and visit some of WiT projects.

Observations

The Committee made a number of observations based on the site visits and engagements with stakeholders. The observations are categorised according to the sites visited and engagement’s held with stakeholders as follows:

Legaga La Nkwe Game Lodge

The following issues were observed in relation to the investment project at Legaga La Nkwe Game Lodge:

Departmental support without requisite approvals

The Department is involved in a project that is not investment ready. The project has not obtained all the necessary approvals, especially the Environmental Impact Assessment. A question arises as to how the Department got involved in a project that is not investment ready to a point of issuing a letter of support. This poses a suspicion for nefarious activities between the departmental officials and the project owner.

Community involvement

The project is facilitated for the project sponsor without community having a stake in the project. There is also no woman involvement and the project owner is going it alone. The assertion by the project owner that community will be involved in the later stage of the project is unacceptable to the Committee as there is no guarantee that this will eventually happen. The Committee observed that the project has one employee who does everything, including being a security guard and accompanying hunters on their trophy hunts. This is employee is from the Limpopo Province and not North West Province but was touted by the project owner as his example of community participation in the project.

Hunting and destination image

The Department provided a letter of support to the project that is involved in trophy hunting. The project owner indicated that hunting will be stopped when the tourism funding is received. However, the country is currently receiving bad reviews that tarnish South Africa as a tourist destination by allowing trophy hunting. The Department cannot be seen as supporting projects that conduct trophy hunting whilst on the other hand trying to attract tourists to the country. The Committee was also not taken on a game drive to assess the health and safety of animals on site. Despite the game drive vehicle parked on site, the Committee was not given a chance to view the animals hunted in the property. This poses a challenge for the Committee to support a project that seems to be deliberately hiding information from parliamentarians. Of concern, was the admission by the project owner that hunters are sometimes allowed to hunt leopards on sites. Despite the project owner saying that the Department of Environmental Affairs issues hunting quotas for leopards from time to time, this activity poses a challenge for destination image given that leopards are an endangered species.

Emergency and Crisis management

The Committee is of the view that the project poses a health and safety danger to tourists in its current form. There are no clinics or hospitals around yet the project involves hunting with powerful rifles. The Committee learnt that the nearest health facilities are Bapong 2 Community Clinic which is 71 kilometers away, with Platinum Health Union Hospital (80 km away); Moses Kotane Hospital (98 km away); Lesego Private Clinic (120 km away) and Medi Clinic Thabazimbi (130 km away). The matter is aggravated by the fact that the facility has no trained First Aid attendants and this poses life danger or even potential death to patrons.

Lack of information about the number of animals in the property

The Committee is concerned that the project owner has no clue about the number of animals in the property yet hunting is going on on-site. It was explained that the property conducts culling based on the numbers obtained from the chopper that conducts stock counting. However, there is no idea about the number of different species being hunted on site. This poses a potential for overhunting and potential for further adulteration of destination image from uncontrolled hunting activities.

Synergy between the environmental considerations and tourism

Without the Environmental Impact Assessment being concluded it is difficult for the Committee to assess how the project will cause impact and irritation to the environment. The project will include building tented structures for tourism activities to blend in with the natural environment. This is a welcome proposal and the Committee encourages all the development to be as close to the prevailing natural environment as possible.

Signage

There is poor signage to the proposed investment project site. When exiting the R56 and entering the gravel road heading to the site, there is no signage whatsoever. The Geographical Positioning System (GPS) works well until about 2-3 kilometers where Google maps where direction is not aligned to the actual road. The Committee could only reach the place as there was a departmental official leading the delegation to the site.

Internal roads

Internal roads are narrow and not well kept. Two cars cannot pass each other on the narrow road and this poses a potential danger to prospective tourists. The thorn bush along the road is also not trimmed and hangs on the road. Cars get scratched as they navigate the narrow road. This is a potential nuisance to the cars visiting the area, including tour busses, private vehicles and hired vehicle driven by tourists to the site.

Gravel road leading to the site

The gravel road to the site is not maintained and bumpy. There are mud pools and potholes on the long stretch of the gravel road. The Committee was informed by the project owner that the road belongs to the Department of Public Works as it was donated by his family. Maintenance the Committee informed that it is therefore the responsibility of Public Works to maintain the road. However, the road has no servitude number and therefore is not budgeted for. This poses a serious conundrum on the status of the road and its future maintained, especially if project gets funded.

Manyane Game Lodge

The following issues were observed with regard to Manyane Game Loge:

6.2.1 Vandalism, dilapidation and negligence

The Committee observed with deep concern the level of dilapidation and vandalism that has been allowed to occur at Manyane Lodge. The R47.9 million structures constructed at Manyane Lodge from 2013/14 financial year are a cause for troubled and engrossed state of mind for anyone who lays eyes on them. The major cause for concern is that the project owner is the North West Parks and Tourism Agency, who though the project site not handed over to them, allowed unabated vandalism and dilapidation of these structures. The structures have been stripped of all the fittings, including electricity wiring and bathroom amenities. The buildings are unusable and in need of complete refurbishment and restoration. This will cost government an additional R40 million for the project that has never worked. This is tantamount to gross fruitless and wasteful expenditure of public funds.

The Committee also noted that some of the issues attributed to vandalism do not correspond with what was observed on site. For example, it was reported by the Department that vandals assaulted the guards with guns. However, what was reported as gun shots at the main gate did not resemble real gunshots. There were also scattered original certificates of people that were trained in the project that were never issued to respective recipients. There were also other training materials, payslips and other documents with private particulars for individuals which were strewn on site. This points to gross negligent on the side of the Department and the previous implementer in the proper handling of the site and respect of private particulars of citizens.

Community participation in project conceptualisation and implementation

The Committee is of the opinion that vandalism is caused by disgruntled community members with regard to the way the project was conceptualised and implemented. The matter of the involvement of local contractors and employment of local people was observed as a serious compliant from local communities. The Committee is of the view that involvement of local contractors and employment of local people during project implementation may increase prospects of the project being successful. In this regard, the Committee urges the Development Bank of Southern Africa to ensure community participation in all current projects under implementation. Community participation is seen as a factor that will increase the level of project ownership by communities, and in turn, will increase the protection of the project from vandalism.

Slow pace of law enforcement

It was reported to the Committee that the Department has opened a number of cases with South African Police Services. It was, however, disturbing to note that no arrest has been made to date on all the cases reported by the Department to the police. There was also no evidence of rigorous follow up by the Department on opened cases. It appears as if the Department opened cases for compliance sake without a passion to see justice done with regard to the wasted public funds.

Forensic audits and the role of the Public Protector

The Committee noted that the Department had conducted forensic audits for various infrastructure projects, including implementation of the Manyane Lodge. It was also noted that a number of cases had been referred to the South African Police Services for investigation and others to the State Attorney for prosecution. It was also reported that the cases have been reported to the Public Protector. However, the Committee had not received the forensic audit reports and does not have a comprehensive appreciation of who is under investigation and which cases had been sent for prosecution. There is also no report on the progress on the cases reported to the Public Protector. The Department is therefore urged to furnish the Committee with full details of the forensic audit reports and all its associated investigations and prospective prosecutions, including matters reported to the Public Protector. This is imperative as no arrest and prosecution has been effected on all the projects where gross maladministration and misapplication of funds have been observed. The Committee is concerned that the wanton malfeasance will continue with the additional funding appropriated to correct the improper implementation of infrastructure projects similar to what transpired previously.

Poor project designs and inferior workmanship

The Committee observed that the aspect of some of the chalets is not a required north facing direction to maximum heating and save on electricity consumption, especially on winter months. The chalets are facing every direction and thus not in accordance with recommended building standards. The rooms are also structured in an unconventional manner as the two-roomed chalets have toilets that open to the bedroom/ living room. This will inconvenient visitors, especially non-couple visitors as the element of privacy is seriously compromised. The Committee therefore decried the process of designs approval at the conceptual stages of the projects. The Development Bank of Southern Africa indicated that they will not temper with the original design but will refurbish the existing chalets, at least to the level of usability.

The Committee also observed poor workmanship on the original buildings as some are falling apart. The use of inferior materials was also observed as some fittings; such as electrical fittings were of poor quality. The DBSA indicated that they will be redoing the entire electrical whirring to put chalets on the recommended standards.

It was also observed that some facilities that were built in the first phase are not of acceptable standards, they need to be destroyed and new ones to be built. This refers especially to the swimming pool that the DBSA says need to be redone completely. This points to another aspect of injudicious use of public funds and fruitless expenditure.

Doing things to appease the Committee

The Committee observed that the Department and DBSA were only doing some of the things to appease the Committee during its oversight to Manyane Lodge. The entire site is overgrown with bushes and grass. The grass had just been cut a day before the Committee came on site. This only cleared some of the grass along the walk ways. However, there was no access to chalets as walkways were not cleared of the overgrowth plants. The Committee had to navigate its way through thick bushes and grass to conduct onsite oversight inside and around the chalets. Other chalets were completely out of reach and could not be inspected in loco.

The DBSA also reported that the tender to appoint the contractor for Manyane Lodge was issued on the same day the Committee visited this failed project. This is not viewed as a sheer coincidence but can only be regarded as one of those rushed decisions taken to placate the Committee.

Need for a repeat visit

The myriad of issues of concern observed at Manyane Lodge warrant a repeat visit by the Committee in the near future. The Committee intends conducting proactive oversight to prevent the repeat of maladministration and poor implementation that obtained in the first phase. Once the project implementer is appointed, the Committee has resolved to conduct a site visit at Manyane Lodge to ensure that all that the DBSA has specified in the contract will actually be done.

Lotlamoreng Dam project

As already stated, on the last day of oversight, the Committee started by visiting the Barolong Boora Tshidi Traditional Council. This was a courtesy visit to announce the presence of the Committee in the jurisdiction of the Council to conduct oversight over the proposed tourism project at the Lotlamoreng Dam. The Committee was warmly received by the senior members of the Council who appreciated the work done by the Committee. However, the Chief was not present at the meeting as he was attending another important Council matter in Rustenburg. The Council raised a matter of electioneering with the Committee and wanted to know if they were in the area for noble reasons of oversight or they came because 2024 was around the corner for general elections. The Committee assured the Council that they were a multi-party delegation that was in the area for genuine purposes of oversight and not electioneering. The question raised by the Council shows a lack of trust between government and communities. Communities feel that government only sees them as only good for votes but there is no follow up with promised service delivery. It was imperative for the Committee to clarify its mandate and good intentions of the oversight visit.

The following issues were observed at Lotlamoreng Dam project:

Need for improved intergovernmental coordination and collaboration

The Committee observed that there are other projects implemented by other government departments on site. There is also a huge potential for the site to become a thriving tourist attraction if planned as a tourism precinct. The projects that require coordination amongst government departments are as follows:

Multi-purpose centre

The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development has constructed a multi-purpose centre that is currently not utilised by the community. The Community expressed concerns that they were not properly consulted when this project was conceptualised and constructed. The contractor was sourced outside the province and did not sub-contract local people. The Mahikeng Local Municipality was also not properly consulted on the project. The community also complained about the sub-standard work done by the contractor. The Committee witnessed poor workmanship done on the building, with the floor concrete cladding peeling off whilst the building has not been utilised yet.

The Committee observed that the multi-purpose centre could be turned into a community asset where skills training can take place; Small and Medium Micro Enterprises could be incubated; indoor sports training could be conducted; Home Affairs can provide a satellite office; SASSA office can be housed, and many other community development initiatives can be hosted. This calls for cooperation and collaboration of the Department of Tourism; Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development; Department of Small Business Development, Department of Sports, Arts and Culture; Department of Home Affairs; Department of Social Development, and other departments that can be identified.

Credo Mutwa’s site

The Lotlamoreng Dam is located in the historical site that was used by Credo Mutwa as his spiritual working place. The site is a sanctuary with a number of significant spiritual items that need preservation and commercialisation as a tourist site. These include numerous statues that depict various life forms and how Africans used to revere women; a place where Credo Mutwa conducted his spiritual divination when consulted by those seeking clarity on their fortunes; a place where medicine was grinded; a man-made cave; a dwelling place for spiritual initiates under the guidance of Credo Mutwa; Rock Arrangements used to determine seasons and times of the day, and many other places of African Traditional Medicine significance.

The Committee observed with concern that this valuable site and spiritual sanctuary is in a gross state of neglect, with bushes growing all around and covering these important aspects of the site. The cattle graze in the site and vandals use it as a hideout. The place can be easily declared a heritage site and turned into either a local or provincial heritage site. Collaboration is needed between the Mahikeng Local Municipality, the North West province and the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture to declare the Credo Mutwa site a heritage site. Collaboration is also needed between the Department of Tourism and the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture to market the site as a tourist attraction once declared a heritage site.

Mahikeng concentration camp cemetery

The Lotlamoreng Dam precinct also houses a heritage site that was used a concentration camp During the Anglo-Boer War. The cemetery contains marked graves and monuments which are in a good state. The site has a huge potential of being turned into a tourism attraction that could draw visitors from all over South Africa and international tourists as it has preserved an important history of South Africa. Currently, the site is unkempt and overgrown with bushes and grass.

Need for improved community participation

The community indicated that they do not have proper information about the tourism project that is planned for Lotlamoreng Dam. They know it will be a day visitor facility, however, they do not have all the details as they were never consulted during the conceptualisation stage of the project. The community raised concerns about a project developed at Lotlamoreng Dam which they called “a white elephant” as it was not developed without soliciting their inputs. As already stated, at the meeting with the Committee, the agitated community had an opportunity to raise their views about what they would like to see during project implementation. This included employment of the main contractor within the North West province; sub-contractors to be from the local community for the 30 percent value of the project; employment of local people in the project; incorporation of the two heritage sites in the tourism development; need for a proper handover of projects for the community to know who the beneficiary is and who to talk to about issues pertaining to the project; need to train the youth to maintain the infrastructure developed in th area; need to develop sustainable tourism projects that develop the community; and others. The Committee observed that the level of anger displayed at the beginning of the meeting subsided as the Committee listened to their issues and held all responsible authorities present accountable, including the Department of Tourism, the Development Bank of Southern Africa and the Mahikeng Local Municipality. This displayed the power of public participation and taking communities along in all planned projects.

Need to rework the Lotlamoreng Dam project

The Committee noted that the planning work for Lotlamoreng Dam day visitor project is advanced as the Development Bank of Southern Africa showed the Committee the site designs of what will be constructed. However, given the myriad of the items that imbue an immense tourism potential to the site, the observation and conclusion is that the DBSA needs to rework the site designs and plan the project as a comprehensive tourism precinct incorporating the two heritage sites. If need be, a feasibility study should be commissioned.

Unfulfilled promises

A serious observation was made that the Committee deems central to the anger displayed by the communities. This relates to unfulfilled promises made by various representatives of government. The communities emphasised that the Committee was not the first representatives of the state (government) to come to the community. At some point, President Cyril Ramaphosa came to the community accompanied by a number of ministers. Minister Thoko Didiza had also visited the area and promised to relay community’s concerns to various government departments. The premier also came to the community, listened to their concerns and promised various interventions. Deputy Minister Obed Bapela also came to the community at some point and promised that development will come to the area. However, the common disappointment with everyone who had visited that area is that none of the promises made were honoured. This made the community angry and suspicious about the proposed tourism development in Lotlamoreng Dam.

6.4 Observations with regard to Women in Tourism (WiT)

The Committee had an opportunity to meet the structure representing the North West chapter of Women in Tourism. The Committee noted that the WiT is an initiative of the Department formed to assist in enhancing women participation in the tourism sector. It assists women to benchmark with another across provinces. It serves as a self-empowerment clubs for various issues in the sector. The following issues were noted with regard to participation of women in the tourism sector:

Since the advent of COVID-19, there has been no interaction or visit by national or provincial government officials to assess the situation and provide support,

There is no development support from the province and local municipalities,
There is no support for women products,
Poor road maintenance affects guests and decreases the number of visitors to facilities, especially in rural areas. Local product owners resort to fixing roads themselves due to lack of maintenance by responsible authorities,
Mushrooming of informal accommodation and lack of bylaws to regulate illegal operators and brothels that compete with legal operators who pay tax and contribute to the country’s gross domestic product is detrimental to legal business operators;
Lack of bylaws regulating noise pollution affect guests visiting tourism establishments,
No response by the local municipalities when illegal operators and noise pollution are reported has caused local business to lose trust in local municipalities;
The Department provides some help through its incentive programmes and the Enterprise Development Programme, but more focussed support for women is needed;
The level of support by the Department varies according to the special needs of each product and should be tailored for case by case as women led businesses are not the same.

6.5 General observations about the oversight

In addition to observations made on specific issues pertaining to particular sites and stakeholder engagements, the Committee mad the following additional observations about the oversight in general:

Planning and execution of oversight

The Committee was of the view that given the distances and type of projects visited, the oversight could have been planned better. This was in regard to the type of projects and the traditional council visited. The Committee was of the opinion that they were not prepared with the type of clothes they had packed as they should have included clothes and shoes to walk in the bushes and formal clothes for visiting the traditional council. There were also sentiments that the Protection Services of Parliament and South African Police Services should have been roped in the oversight to lead the delegation on long distances and providing security where impromptu meetings were held with communities.

Departmental delegation to oversight visits

The Director-General was not present at the oversight and this posed a challenge where the departmental officials could not respond to some of the pertinent questions raised by the Committee. The general view is that the Director-General remains aloof to the challenges faced by the infrastructure projects yet he is a constant figure in all the failed projects, including historical projects which were started during the tenure of the erstwhile Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT). An observation was made that the Director-General never accompanies the Committee on any oversight visit and this was unacceptable and should stop. The indifference of the Director-General to oversight is a concern as he is the one with all the information and remains accountable for all the failed projects. The Deputy Director-General was not empowered enough to address all the issues as she does not possess necessary institutional memory needed to address some questions pertaining to the conceptualisation, planning and inception of some of the projects.

Institutional capacity to implement infrastructure projects

The Committee reiterates its concerns about the department’s lack of institutional capacity to manage infrastructure projects. The Deputy Director-General responsible for infrastructure projects has relegated all responsibility to the Development Bank of Southern Africa. The Development Bank of Southern Africa is viewed by the Committee as a scapegoat as all questions are now referred to them by the Department. The Committee has always recommended that the Department must employ a senior expert who understands the built environment at a level of an engineer. The Department has always rejected this recommendation by saying their mandate is not in the built environment. The observation of the Committee is that the Department has always and will continue to implement infrastructure projects. As such, the Committee reiterates its position that the Department should employ senior personnel with built environment expertise. This person will assist the Department even with monitoring the deliverables assigned to the Development Bank of Southern Africa. This individual will also be an asset to the Department after the agreement with the Development Bank of Southern Africa has been terminated.

Improper conduct of departmental officials

The Committee was concerned about what seems to be a general trend of improper conduct displayed by the departmental officials. Firstly, the Deputy Director-General displayed a sense of arrogance and disrespect when addressing the Chairperson. She used the tone of the voice and a language that was unacceptable in exchanging unpleasant word with the Chairperson. This showed gross disrespect and failure to understand the role of the Committee in conducting the oversight over the Department.

Secondly, the departmental officials seemed to conspiring with project implementers who did poor work at Manyane Lodge. The officials said there was nothing wrong with the implementer, the only issue was that the project ran out of funds. This caused a serious concern as the project was approved with a specific budget and time frames for implementation, and cost escalations could have been averted had the project been implemented with stipulated timeframes. The issue of funds being depleted does not arise and there is no justification for shoddy and incomplete work done at Manyane Lodge.

Thirdly, the officials of the Department seem to have no Standard Operating Procedures when it comes to the implementation of Investment Projects. It was concerning to the Committee to learn that the Legaga La Nkwe project got into departmental books through officials meeting or “bumping to the project owner” at the airport. This causes suspicion that the departmental officials might have conflict of interest in the investment projects and prioritising projects for their acquaintances instead of investment ready projects. This is more so given that the Legaga La Nkwe project is not investment ready and does not have all necessary approvals but the Department has issued a letter of support and is assisting the project owner with facilitating a project that is not ready for investment.

Undertakings by the Committee based on the observations

The Committee made a number of undertakings based on the observations. These are undertakings that will be implemented by the Committee itself as interventions to give effect to some of the urgent matters that require its attention. As part of its interventions, the Committee will:

Conduct a repeat visit to North West Province at least two months after the contractor to implement the project has been appointed by the Development Bank of Southern Africa.

Conduct oversight visits to the offices of the Department and South African Tourism to meet all the staff responsible for implementing the projects and other programmes contained in the Annual Performance Plans.

Given the reluctance to furnish the Committee with relevant documents, summon the Director-General to submit the forensic reports on infrastructure projects if these are not tabled to the Committee as requested.

Schedule an urgent meeting with the Development Bank of Southern Africa to understand their role in the implementation of infrastructure projects through unpacking the Memorandum of Agreement signed with the Department of Tourism.

Investigate the alleged exclusionary database used by the Development Bank of Southern Africa to appoint service providers, excluding local communities.

Schedule a meeting in Parliament with the Minister of Tourism and the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development with an objective to align development at Lotlamoreng Dam.

Write a letter to the Leader of Government Business about concerns raised by the community, especially unfulfilled promises by various members of Cabinet.

Schedule a full briefing with the Department on the Women in Tourism initiative.

Recommendations

Having made a myriad of observations, the Committee makes a number of specific recommendations to the Minister of Tourism. The observations are varied, including general recommendations to the Department, those relating to intergovernmental relations and interventions required to be actioned by the Minister at a Cabinet level. In relation to various categories of recommendations, the Minister should within three months of receiving this report:

General recommendations to the Department

Explore the option of employing a senior person with expertise in the built environment to assist the Department in managing the implementation of infrastructure projects.

Ensure that the Department submits to the Committee all the forensic audit reports and furnish details about all the cases that have been reported to the South African Police Services, and those prosecuted by the State Attorney to assess how monies have been recouped, and the extent to which consequence management was effected.

Furnish the Committee with all the information and feedback relating to the projects that have been reported to the Public Protector.

Rethink funding projects in the North West Province given that the province failed to spend its R1.8 billion of its allocated budget that could have been redirected to completing and refurbishing the tourism infrastructure projects.

Ensure that the Development Bank of Southern Africa as an implementing agent for infrastructure projects include local content in all the projects to prevent potential conflict with local contractors who feel side-lined in procurement.

Before project commences, the Development Bank of Southern Africa ensures that the Department has satisfied itself with public participation conducted in all communities where projects are implemented to ensure project support and prevent potential vandalism by disgruntled community members.

Ensure that the Department develops a proper procedure or process to be followed when applying for investment projects interventions. This should be in a form of Standard Operating Procedures of how investment projects are supported in order to avoid potential conflict of interest, nepotism and all other forms of potential corrupt practices.

Facilitates that the Department engages the municipalities, provincial and national authorities responsible for proving signage to erect necessary tourism signage throughout the North West province, especially pointing to local tourism sites.

In future, ensures that the Department provides all relevant project information timeously for all projects to be visited to allow the Committee to prepare accordingly and be well versed with issues on the ground.

Ensure focussed support for Women in Tourism and youth involvement in the programmes implemented by the Department.

Engage the Minister of Transport; Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) about the maintenance of national, provincial and local roads and their value to local economic development, especially tourism.

Engage the North West provincial government and the South African Local Government Association on the importance for municipalities to develop bylaws to regulate illegal tourism businesses and other factors that affect local tourism, such as noise levels around tourism establishments.

In relation to Legaga La Nkwe Game Lodge

Ensure that the Department pulls out of the Legaga La Nkwe project until hunting on site is stopped and all the necessary approvals are obtained by the project owner, especially the Environmental Impact Assessment.

Ensure that the Department engages the North West Department of Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and Tourism to convene a meeting with all relevant stakeholders that have a role to play in facilitating investment to the project. This will ensure that the project is investment ready before the Department can intervene.

Ensure that the Department encourages the North West Department of Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and Tourism to work closer with the project sponsor to assess the potential of the project and expedite all necessary approvals within enabling legislation.

Ensure that the Department engages the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure on the reported non-existence of the servitude on the gravel to increase prospects for future maintenance.

In relation to Manyane Game Lodge

Ensure that the project is implemented within allocated budget and within stipulated time-frames to avoid cost escalation.

Ensure that there is a proper operating entity when the project is handed over to the North Works Parks and Tourism Board.

Ensure that the contractor provides adequate security onsite during construction until the project is handed over to the North Works Parks and Tourism Board.

Ensure that the Director-General accompanies the Committee in a repeat visit to Manyane Lodge once the contractor has been appointed.

Follow up on all cases opened with law enforcement agencies about vandalism that occurred at Manyane Lodge.

Provide the Committee with the forensic report for Manyane Lodge and provide adequate feedback on consequence management for both the previous implementer and implicated departmental staff members.

In relation to Lotlamoreng Dam

Ensure that the Department repackages and develops a coordinated tourism precinct development plan for Lotlamoreng Dam to maximise impact of investments by various government departments in the area.
Engage the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture to work with the North West Province and Mahikeng Local Municipality to declare Lotlamoreng Dam precinct a heritage site due to the heritage value presented by the Credo Mutwa sanctuary and the concentration camp cemetery.

Make Cabinet aware of the potential of developing Lotlamoreng Dam as a tourism precinct and a community multi-purpose centre, and rally all relevant government departments to cooperate, collaborate and coordinate their investments in developing this precinct.

Encourage the national, provincial and local municipal authorities to make good on all promises they have made to the community around Lotlamoreng Dam on various occasions.

Conclusion

The oversight visit to the North West province provided valuable insights to the Committee that will enhance its oversight work over the Department. A plethora of issues were unearthed, particularly regarding the manner in which the Department has implemented the infrastructure projects in the past. The Committee also identified red flags in the current model of using the Development Bank of Southern Africa as an implementing agent. The Committee noted a number of concerns with regard to stakeholder engagement, public consultation and challenges emanating from poor intergovernmental relations. These issues have been succinctly captured in the observations and intervening solutions presented through the recommendations made to the Minister of Tourism. The Committee has also made its own undertakings on issues that require immediate attention. The Committee will closely monitor how the Minister and the Department implement the recommendations.

Report to be considered

Documents