SA Tourism acting CEO Mzilikazi Themba Khumalo has responded to criticism about the proposed R1bn sponsorship deal with Tottenham Hotspur, saying their job was to bring international tourists into the country and spend money, and not to fix infrastructure problems.

On Wednesday, Daily Maverick reported that the government, through its marketing agency, was proposing a 36-month deal, believed to be a sleeve sponsorship, with English Premier League club Tottenham at a cost of R910m over three years.

Daily Maverick reported tourism minister Lindiwe Sisulu's aim was to conclude the deal before the impending cabinet reshuffle by President Cyril Ramaphosa potentially removes her from the tourism portfolio.

Many have criticised the proposal, arguing the money could be better spent elsewhere and possibly contribute towards fixing the energy crisis.

However, during a media briefing on Thursday, Khumalo said that was not their mandate, adding that there were departments allocated to address those issues.

“The money that's invested in tourism is not the same money that's required for energy. It's not the same amount of money that's required to fix potholes. There are other departments that are dedicated to that and are given that mandate by legislation.

“Our legislated mandate is about persuading international people to travel into the country and spend money in our economy and that is what we will stick to whether it is through this initiative or another one. That is what we are paid to do and we'll continue to do until we're told otherwise,” Khumalo said.

Khumalo confirmed the deal was not yet finalised but the SA Tourism board had given provisional approval pending consultation with stakeholders, which include Sisulu and National Treasury.

He said the deal would bring in more money to the SA economy, and through it, the department would be able to persuade international tourists to travel to SA.

“The envisioned deal has got absolutely nothing to do with football, it has got to do with accessing the aggregated audiences that football brings. We are after the viewers of football that have the spend and willingness to travel long haul to our destination,” he said.

Khumalo said it was nothing new for SA Tourism to spend millions of rands in foreign marketing and that it had been done in previous years.

Meanwhile, Cosatu national spokesperson Sizwe Pamla called on the government to scrap the proposed R1bn football sponsorship particularly on the backdrop of many small tourism operators struggling to recover from Covid-19 and hoping for some financial relief from the department of tourism in vain.

“This is a misguided vanity project that will contribute nothing to fix the ailing tourism industry that has not only suffered from Covid-19 but is also sabotaged by electricity cuts and high crime levels.

"The federation is concerned by the number of wrong-headed and cartoonish ideas produced by government departments, and bizarrely even championed by their ministers, on how to fix this ailing sector of the economy. This comes after the department of sport, arts and culture proposed a ludicrous and absurd plan to blow about R22m on a100-metre flag monument,” Pamla said.