Question NW4178 to the Minister of Tourism
21 December 2023 - NW4178
De Freitas, Mr MS to ask the Minister of Tourism
What (a) are the details of the plans of (i) her department and (ii) SA Tourism (SAT) to adhere to the National Treasury circular to all departments requesting them to reduce spending, (b) are the (ii) timelines, milestones and/or deadlines in this regard and (c) is the anticipated impact of the reduction in spending on the (i) functioning and (ii) respective mandates of her department?
Reply:
(i)The Department
(a)(i) What are the plans to reduce spending?
I have been informed by the Department that the Cost Containment Guidelines were issued as advisory and not an instruction in terms of section 76 the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), 1999. The department, however, took an initiative to reduce expenditure on travel and related items as advised in the guidelines. An internal circular was issued to staff in that regard in September 2023.
(b)(ii) What are the timelines, milestones and/or deadlines in this regard?
Based on the guidelines, the Department of Tourism reprioritized and released R63,699m during the Adjustment Estimates of National Expenditure (AENE) process.
(c) What is the anticipated impact of this on the
(i) functioning of the Department
Although travelling was scaled down due to the budget cuts, the department is committed to achieve all the planned targets.
(ii) respective mandates of the department?
The department is committed to implement all the targets in the APP. There have not been any amendments to the APP.
(ii) SA Tourism
(a)(i) What are the plans to reduce spending?
I have been informed by South African Tourism that in 2024/25, SA Tourism’s budget allocation is set to decrease by 7,5%. The budget cuts and spending reviews during the Medium Term Expenditure Committee submission have heightened the entity’s budget optimisation strategy. The entity had already in its annual performance plan identified budget optimisation as an indicator, thus emphasizing efforts to adhere to austerity measures as communicated by National Treasury.
(b)(ii) What are the timelines, milestones and/or deadlines in this regard?
Overhead expenditure, which include operational costs such as communication, office consumables and IT support have been targeted as areas to reduce spending. Where contractual obligations exist, these will not be renewed. This is an ongoing process; however, most savings are expected to be realised in 2024/25 budget.
(c) What is the anticipated impact of this on the
(i) functioning and (ii) the respective mandate of SA Tourism
Marketing costs which are the core operating costs in achieving SAT’s are expected to decrease by 6% in 2024/25. Hosting and capabilities have been targeted to be reduced. These include reduction in travel costs of hosted media and trade.
Also, currently cost efficiency measures are being implemented in procurement of marketing initiatives to ensure that SAT achieves maximum value for money and unnecessary spending is avoided.