National Heritage Monument Project; Department of Tourism implementation of BRRR & Oversight Reports; with Deputy Minister

Meeting report

National Heritage Monument project

Ms Sarah Haines, Heritage Manager, National Heritage Project Company, said the "Long March to Freedom"(LMTF) had been a monumental procession of 100 life-size bronze statues and the largest exhibition of its kind anywhere in the world. A one-of-a-kind experience, the individual bronze artworks depicted South African and international icons, some famous and others unknown, and tell the story of the 350-year struggle for freedom and democracy in SA, in a sweeping, moving and immersive experience.

It first opened as a national heritage attraction in 2015 at Fountains Valley, City of Tshwane. Then, in December 2018, it moved to Maropeng, the "cradle of humankind," because it sought sustainability. During November of 2019, it opened its current location in Century City because it had been in search of sustainability. In March 2020, it closed for six months due to Covid-19, and also during the sporadic lockdowns over the next 18 months.

Ms Haines said a small grant from Woolworths South Africa enabled operations to continue from January 2021 to March 2023, including the bronze of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The grant also enabled business planning, searching for possible new locations, assessment of the revenue, and funding models necessary to survive. Some emergency funding had recently been granted by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture to enable operations until January 2024. This funding would also enable some much needed marketing.

In collaboration with the Western Cape Department of Education, the organisation has been developing an intensive schools programme to bring through 14 000 learners over the next two years. This meant it would be seeking funding partners to facilitate the related activities. The "Long March to Freedom" continued to be a valuable, but threatened, heritage tourism resource.

She pointed out the challenges were on stabilising in their current location so as to be able to offer a quality visitor experience to domestic and international visitors. The other area had been on operational expenses, and that was why they were seeking funding partners. The entrance fees had been kept low for South Africans. The organisation needed a guaranteed operational budget.

She indicated that there was little budget for marketing, and a need for exposure to a wider market. The organisation was considering partaking in international trade shows to capture international tourists. Infrastructure continued to be temporary and was in need of upgrading, and the organisation wanted something more permanent.

In addition, the digital platform required expansion, the bronzes needed maintenance, and information panels and signage needed upgrading. There was also a need to hire more staff and, produce coffee table books and develop a range of merchandise to sell on site

The current location was offering positives in the form of support from landlords, the Table Mountain background, etc. The opportunity to secure a funding partner would provide positive exposure for the funder, linking it to the exhibition. Links with SA Tourism would facilitate the promotion of LMTF because the message of the exhibition had been positive and uplifting, and that was something that SA Tourism could use. This could further provide an opportunity to promote the exhibition to international markets.

Ms Haines said she understood the Department of Tourism would fund infrastructure, and that a semi-permanent structure could include a visitors' centre, a multi-purpose space, and serve as a tourism information kiosk for South African Tourism. The organisation was grateful the Department was expanding the offering of their website, and that would link the organisation to other heritage tourism initiatives. Lastly, she indicated maintenance and signage upgrades required funding, and they would like to investigate how they could apply for funds again from Department of Tourism, because they last received funding from the Department in 2016.

Discussion
Ms H Ismail (DA) wanted to know which department should be funding the project; how much discussion had taken place between the organisation and the Western Cape government; how much money had been generated from this project; the number of job opportunities it had generated; how many tour guides this organisation should have, and the number of visitors the project received per annum.

Ms Haines responded that in the last 18 months, her organisation had interacted with the Premier of the province, the Mayor and the Mayoral Committee, tourism bodies, and the Western Cape Education Department (WCED). The focus had been on stabilising their current situation. She said more than 1 000 people had been trained since the organisation was formed. This included training researchers and artists to make bronze statues, and people were paid stipends. Recently, they employed ten tourism interns. The organisation had applied for funds from the National Heritage Council and the President’s Stimulus Programme. It had been a vehicle for training and providing internships. Currently, it has eight tour guides.

Ms M Gomba (ANC) commented that the exhibition was unique and continued to carry the message about South Africa's history. It improved tourism amongst the provinces. The Department should assist such organisations, because the Heritage Project has been struggling to get assistance since 2012 up to now. Getting financial assistance would ensure it received recognition and continued to promote the country's heritage. She asked how the organisation had survived all these years without financial assistance; if SAT and the DG of the Department were aware of this organisation; and if the organisation was reaching international markets currently, because its site carried the history of this country.

Ms Haines acknowledged the Department of Tourism for its support since 2016 in the form of bronzes, development information panels, master planning for training and heritage exhibitions. The Department had been encouraging the organisation and showing it how to move forward. She also pointed out that they had been receiving funds from the National Lottery, the Telkom Foundation, Woolworths SA, and the Department of Trade and Industry over the years. However, some of that funding ceased during 2019. They were now trying to sustain the organisation with the meagre resources it had. It was only recently that they had decided to try to go to the international markets.

Ms L Makhubela-Mashele (ANC) commented that the organisation had not told the Committee about the number of times it had approached the Department for assistance. She enquired if it had tapped into the itineraries of those organisations bringing tourism to the City of Cape Town; how it had applied for funding; if it had forged relations with other bodies involved in tourism; and wanted to know details of its shareholding.

Ms Haines pointed out that the organisation had made many funding applications, and was working with a fund-raiser. Funding had been secured from Woolworths SA. In addition, the exposure received during the unveiling of the site had brought them funding through the Deputy Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture. More exposure was needed. The entity operated as a non-profit organisation (NPO), with three directors, including Mr Dali Tambo. The last 18 months had been spent on holding the organisation together. They were in dire need of funding for the operational costs for the daily running of the organisation. As a result, they had decided South Africans should pay R10 to get into the site, just to keep the organisation moving.

Ms P Mpushe (ANC) applauded the founder of the organisation, Mr Dali Tambo, for starting the project, and said she had been impressed by what she saw when the Committee visited the site. It was a pity that such an exhibition was not getting the support it deserved to ensure young people understood where their heroes and icons came from. She said the project stood a chance to be expanded to other provinces and to attract learners from other provinces like the Eastern Cape to come to see the exhibition.

Ms Haines said they had virtual tours on their website for children. Once money was made available, they would then be able to bring children from other provinces to visit their site.

The Chairperson remarked the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO); the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture; the Western Cape Department of Education; the SAT; Department of Tourism; and Wesgro should be key in ensuring funding was provided to the National Heritage Project Company. The collaboration between the organisation and the WCED indicated things were moving in the right direction. The site represented the history of the country. The more exposure the organisation got, the more assistance it would get. She said that when Mr Tambo had started the project, it had come to him as his father's dream. As a believer in culture, he had made a follow-up to ensure it saw the light of the day. She commended the tour guides of the site as empowering when they delivered information, and said she had learnt that kings had played a crucial role in the liberation of the country. The site was international, and the involvement of DIRCO would be important.

Ms S Maneli (ANC) enquired if the organisation had any earmarked venue that could be discussed with the stakeholders. She asked about the number of people receiving tickets per week, and if the organisation was content with what it had got.

Ms Haines explained that in all the meetings held with stakeholders, an interest in the project had been shown by the likes of the Premier of the province, the Mayor and Mayoral Committee, etc. Alternative venues had been discussed, but nothing had come to fruition. They had therefore decided to stabilise what they had. She said they would not like to increase ticket prices. Full guided tours cost R75, but for those who wanted to just move around the site, the ticket was R10 for South Africans. The site got five to ten visitors a day. She did not know the exact figures per week, but heading to the tourist season, things would change, as soon as winter disappeared.

The Chairperson said it had dawned on the Committee that the organisation was an NPO. It was educating South Africa's citizens and youth. It was good to learn that Woolworths SA has been supporting it. The site should be the first point of reference before people go to Robben Island to better understand the country's history. The Committee wanted insight into what the organisation was all about, and the engagement had been an eye-opener.

Department's implementation of BRRR recommendations

Mr Victor Tharage, Director-General (DG), Department of Tourism, briefed the Committee on implementing the 2021/22 Budgetary Review and Recommendations Report (BRRR) recommendations. He presented the recommendations of the Portfolio Committee for the Department.

(See the recommendations and the Department's responses in the attached presentation)

SAT's implementation of BRRR recommendations

Ms Yoland Kona, Head: Strategic Planning, Evaluation & Programme Management, took the Committee through implementing the 2021/22 Budgetary Review and Recommendations Report (BRRR) recommendations. She presented the generic recommendations of the Portfolio Committee for the Department.

(See the recommendations and the Department's responses in the attached presentation)

Limpopo and North West oversight reports

Dr Shamilla Chettiar, Deputy Director-General (DDG): Destination Development, Department of Tourism, briefed the Committee on the Limpopo and North West oversight reports. The presentation focused on broad recommendations and specific responses and project specific recommendations.

(See the recommendations and the Department's responses in the attached presentation)

Discussion

The Chairperson asked when the audit plans would be presented to the Committee. Where had the Department sent the letter for the beneficiaries of the Tourist Guide Relief Fund who had died? She applauded the Department for collaborating with the South African Police Service (SAPS). She suggested it should consider approaching technical and vocational training and education (TVET) colleges regarding the training of tourism monitors, to ensure South African citizens were given preference.

She asked the DG to advise the Committee on the interventions it needs to make concerning the tourism grading policy and its financial implications. Establishments should adhere to the grading policy. She also indicated that tour operators should be subjected to the licensing regulations of the country. There should be no exemptions for them, because these were the regulations of the country and the laws should not be adjusted for this sector alone.

She asked the Department to advise the Committee it needed to make concerning the roll-out of e-visas. Regarding tourism infrastructure, the Committee had recommended that the Department should start considering intergovernmental relations, but it had not reported on how far it had gone on that matter. On the North West projects, she indicated that the 30% of work to be given to the small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) was not the only matter raised in the meeting.

Ms Chettiar responded that local suppliers were usually appointed by the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) to do the main work. The DBSA had a pre-approved panel of contractors throughout the country, and bid specifications had always been given to pre-approved contractors. The DBSA had received permission for an open tender to get compliant bids in the North West. The attendance register had gone missing and the DBSA had had to re-advertise the tender. The adjudication process was well underway, and all supply chain management (SCM) prescripts had been followed. The Department was providing non-financial support to all projects. Project owners completed a template to match projects with development finance institutions (DFIs) or investors. The Department was working with all local governments and provinces.

Ms Mmaditonki Setwaba, Deputy Director-General: Sector Support Services, Department of Tourism, responded on the letter for the deceased beneficiaries, and said a case had been opened at the SAPS for those who had withdrawn money not intended for them. The case had been prepared to identify the beneficiaries where some money had been withdrawn from their accounts.

She added the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) had been approached for the provision of capacity by the Department. The DHA had secured resources, and had a specialised centre for processing the e-visas. The DHA had been doing well on the number of days it took to process the e-visas, even though many people did not know much about this, and SAT still had to work on this matter.

She indicated that audit action plans were ready to be presented to the Committee, and that the Department had considered the route of going to the TVET colleges.

She pointed out there was no specific site accreditation system. Sites were engaging with the Department regarding their own individual establishment capacity.

The Deputy Minister of Tourism, Mr Fish Mahlalela, explained that the issue over the tour operators' licence was a result of a failure on the part of the Department of Transport. There had been no board to process the licences, but now there was a board in place to do the processing. He said the issue of governance at the SAT would be referred to the Minister.

Ms Gomba remarked that the matter of the e-visas was proving to be a challenge and needed to be fast-tracked because there were tourists that came to SA as tourists, and ended up staying illegally. She hoped nature reserves were accommodated in the tourism plans, because there were blocks that did not have the capacity to accommodate people in nature reserves in terms of ablution facilities.

She asked how many cases regarding non-adherence to policies on financial statements had been resolved by the Department; if there were any systems in place to ensure assets were kept in the register; why under-performance was reported to the Committee when there were monthly performance dashboards and quarterly performance reports; and why recruiting agencies were used for recruiting the CEO, and if the amount of time and money that could have been saved was considered.

Ms Kona, SAT, replied that there had been improvements in accountability regarding asset management since it was moved to the finance department. The dashboards were prepared by a business team every month. They were there to provide assurance to the management. The challenges were around the lack of capacity internally and the filling of vacancies. There had been a moratorium on filling vacancies since the 2020/21 financial year. It was something the Exco should mitigate to achieve optimum performance. On using a recruiting agency, she said there were internal capacity limitations for dealing with executive positions in terms of checking the background of candidates, verifying qualifications and verifying criminal records.

Ms Chetiar referred to the ablution facilities, and commented that all levels of government were responsible for tourism. The Department did not own all the tourism spots or sites in the country, so intervention was limited and budget cuts were also a contributing factor. She emphasised tourism suffered from many major infrastructure problems.

Ms Maneli enquired if consultations on the Ngove project had been done before or after the visit of the Committee, because when they had visited the site, they got the impression it was not what the community wanted. She commented that the responses of the Department had not answered what the Committee had recommended for the Legaga La Nkwe Game Lodge project. The Department was also not providing any way forward on the recommendation of the Committee that it should engage the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture to work with the North West Province and Mahikeng Municipality to declare Lotlamoreng Dam a heritage site.

Ms Chettiar explained that when the Ngove project was started in 2000, the original idea had been to start a cultural village. Unfortunately, the technical people responsible for planning had then realised the money allocated for the project would be used for bulk services. There had been a discussion between the community and the then Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism to find a second site, which was the current project site. There had not been a cultural village since 2017 -- now there was a conference facility instead.

Ms Setwaba said the recommendation on site guides could have been phrased better. The Department had been working with the Culture, Arts, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport Sector Education and Training Authority (CATHSETA) which provides training modules, and the Department was working with all provinces to capacitate tour guides.

Ms Mpushe commented that the Department had responded for the sake of responding, because the whole exercise was meant to track resolutions taken in the National Assembly for implementation. She said the idea of insourcing tourism monitors into the Department's programmes would never see the light of the day due to lack of resources. It appeared the Department had no budget for the people on the ground, yet there had been money for Tottenham Hotspur and the Trevor Noah projects. She was not getting a sense of what the Department had done on the projects. She asked the Committee be furnished with a detailed financial report on the Ngove project, because the Department had stated there had been no findings on fruitless and wasteful expenditure.

In addition, the responses of the Department regarding the use of local suppliers by the DBSA indicated there was no need for the Committee to make that recommendation, because it had stated that the DBSA, in any event, used local suppliers. She asked which projects the Department was able to unlock in terms of National Treasury regulations, and if it was able to sift through and monitor issues related to tourism.

Ms Setwaba said oversight of the DBSA had been done through the steering committee of the Department. A follow-up was being done by going to the clusters. There was a mechanism in place to monitor issues related to tourism. The Department was working with CATHSETA, which provides training modules for site guards, and was working with all the provinces and local governments to capacitate tour guides. She made it clear the Department had been providing non-financial support to all the projects. Project owners completed a template to match the projects with the DFIs or investors.

Deputy Minister Mahlalela said it was not true the Department was anti-poor. Most of its projects had been directed to the poor, not to the Tottenham Hotspur and Trevor Noah projects. The Department was trying hard to ensure projects were completed, but the main challenge had been in-fighting within the communities. Some traditional leaders wanted projects for themselves, but not for the communities they presided over. The Department was not dealing with individuals, but with communities.

The Chairperson remarked that the DG had not said anything about infrastructure projects, and asked him to send the Committee the infrastructure report, plus the report on funds squandered illegally on the deceased beneficiaries of the Tourism Guide Relief Fund. The DG should also provide a report that enlightens the Committee on the Ngove project, which had received funding twice.

She indicated the Committee was not happy with the report from the DG, and she asked him to prepare a better report on some of the issues raised by the Members. The Committee had been shocked by lifting the moratorium, but this meant people would be hired. She said the AG would be invited to verify the information presented by the Department to the Committee. She also noted the matter of compromised governance at the SAT, where an individual was a referee and a player – a CFO and acting CEO. The Committee noted what the DG had suggested on the National Monument Heritage Project and had taken that advice, because for this NPO to receive funding from the government and its entities, it needed to have its own space or building.

SAT's implementation of BRRR recommendations

The Chairperson remarked it was an anomaly for the chief financial officer (CFO) to also act as the chief executive officer (CEO) of the entity, because it appeared she was the referee and player at the same time. She wondered if there was no other person capable of acting as the CEO.

Mr Tim Harris, Chairperson, SAT, said the report had responded to the allegations of the whistle-blower regarding the previous acting CEO, who had been asked to go back to her previous position of chief operating officer (COO). The board had decided to appoint the CFO, Ms Nombulelo Guliwe, to be the acting CEO, and the decision was in the best interest of the entity.

Ms Gomba wanted to know if that was how the entity was managing consequence management -- by demoting an acting CEO to a COO position.

Ms Mpushe said if the Committee accepted the response from Mr Harris, it would have to re-visit the Tourism Act, which would require the presence of the Minister.

The Chairperson said governance would be compromised in the entity, and this would weaken the controls, because one could not be a CFO and an acting CEO at the same time. This wrong needed to be corrected.

Mr Harris said the investigation had recommended that action be taken against the two officials implicated in the allegations.

Deputy Minister Mahlalela said the implicated officials had not been suspended, but had been charged.

Ms Gomba indicated it was astonishing to learn about the way the Department had been dealing with whistle-blowers.

Ms Makhubela-Mashele pointed out it was a good decision to allow the investigated person to be away from the acting position. The board should be applauded for what it did by finding a person with no cloud hanging over him or her.

The Chairperson said the Committee was concerned only that the good governance of the entity was being compromised. It was a wrong practice to continue having a CFO who was also an acting CEO, whether that arrangement was an interim one or not. Whatever remedial action had been implemented, it was not the business of the Committee. She wondered who was going to account for the finances of the entity and its administrative matters. It was clear that Ms Guliwe would do both, and be a referee and a player. The controls would be compromised in terms of governance.

Deputy Minister Mahlalela said it was the Minister who had to agree on the position of the acting CEO, and that could not be her decision alone.

Mr Harris explained that the board had received concurrence from the Minister, who had suggested the CFO should be appointed to act as CEO for the short-term period. The recommendation of the CFO would be tabled before the executive committee (Exco) for approval.

Ms Maneli enquired if Mr Harris could confirm that the Minister had given concurrence that the CFO should also act as CEO.

Ms Gomba asked if Mr Harris could also confirm that the previous acting CEO had returned to her COO position because of the investigation.

Mr Harris stated the Act required concurrence from the Minister. The previous acting CEO had returned to her COO responsibilities because of the investigation. He also confirmed that the Minister had given concurrence to the CFO to act as CEO.

Ms Makhubela-Mashele asked for clarity on the short-term contract for the acting CEO, and what the next step would be in bringing stability to the entity.

Mr T Myeni (ANC) asked how the Committee was going to deal with the BRRR, seeing that there was the problem of the CFO and acting CEO.

Mr Harris said consequence management was being run by the human resources (HR) department, which would then advise the board. The recruitment of the CEO was an ongoing process. The priority for the board was to have permanent positions.

The Chairperson reminded the Committee that in the previous meeting, Mr Harris had told Members the board had appointed an interim CFO, knowing very well the Auditor-General (AG) had recommended the appointment of permanent positions for the CFO and CEO. She urged Mr Harris to read the King 1V principles on good governance.

Ms Gomba suggested the SAT should review its organogram.

Mr Tharage read the concurrence from the Minister about the appointment of Ms Guliwe to be the acting CEO of the entity, to the Committee.

The meeting was adjourned.