Parliament's portfolio committee calls off Spurs sponsorship

Parliament's tourism committee chairperson Tandi Mahambehlala charged head on against minister Lindiwe Sisulu, saying the proposed R1bn sponsorship with English Premier League soccer club Tottenham Hotspur is off. 

On Tuesday Mahambehlala accused Sisulu, who arrived hours late for the meeting, of not taking the committee seriously, missing meetings and accused her of not understanding parliamentary protocol.

The heated exchange between the two, who were thought to be allies, played out during the tourism committee meeting at which SA Tourism (SAT) appeared to account for the proposed deal.

Emphasising their decision to cut ties with Spurs, Mahambehlala said: “As the committee we’re saying that this deal is off. It ends here today, now. More so, I think it will be easy to end it because there was no deal. Many of the speakers told the minister themselves [with] one message, one voice there was no deal. It ends here today, now. It should not even begin and that’s what it means so it’s not going to happen.”

Sisulu charged that the decision was for President Cyril Ramaphosa to make and not the committee.

"We understand the view of the committee and the committee chair but unfortunately this being a matter of national interest, only the president can make that decision. I think we owe it to him to be the one to make that final decision," Sisulu said.

Interrupting Sisulu before she could finish talking, Mahlambehlala said Sisulu was wrong.

"Minister, you are out of order because here we’re a portfolio committee of parliament and all executives of this country, even the president is accountable to this parliament so what you’re saying here is extremely out of order and we stand by our decision and we’re not going to allow you to disrupt this meeting and want to dictate on what we must say or not say," she said.

During the heated exchange, the two women did not look at each other.

"Honourable members, I think we have a responsibility to teach the minister the protocols of this country because amongst the reasons why we summoned her is because of this notion of thinking executives are not accountable to parliament. I’m happy that at some point, the leader of government business, deputy president David Mabuza, in parliament was explicit to say as the executive they are accountable to the parliament of South Africa hence there was something called separation of powers and the three arms of state," Mahlambehlala said. 

Earlier on Tuesday, SAT acting CFO Johan van der Walt, who has ties to the agency that was set to be used to activate the R1bn deal, told the committee that he had just joined SAT in December after a recruitment agency asked him to submit his CV. Regarding the deal, he said he only played a consultancy role in a sports marketing group contracted to SAT and the WWP Group.

"Seeing that there is a conflict of interest on your side, when do you wish to tender your resignation? I wouldn’t mind if you submit it while we are sitting here,” responded Mahambehlala.

SAT acting CEO Themba Khumalo also came under fire and “apologised unreservedly” to the committee and the public for his behaviour at a press conference in Johannesburg on Thursday.

Khumalo told MPs that he was sorry for “coming across in a manner that was arrogant and probably over self-confident”.

He said his behaviour was “motivated by the fact that I was under personal attack [on] social media. I felt under pressure at ... that press briefing. Please forgive me.”

His apology came after he was lambasted by Mahambehlala, who said Khumalo spoke to South Africans as if he was speaking to his children.

“The acting CEO was talking to South Africans very arrogantly... That was an embarrassing moment for us, we did not take it lightly.”

MPs were also angered by Sisulu's absence, accusing her of undermining the committee and being disrespectful.

“We have had a minister who has been a law unto herself, never attended portfolio committee meetings [and] not here on a crucial matter... ,” Mahambehlala said.

The committee previously issued summons against Sisulu after previous requests for her to appear were ignored. Responding, she said she was seeking legal advice thereon.

Sisulu said she had submitted apologies for every meeting she had missed, adding that at times the committee meetings clashed with cabinet sittings.

Sisulu issued a statement saying she had attended the joint meeting of all cabinet committees led by Ramaphosa, a physical meeting which started at 9am.

In the statement Sisulu said she "takes exception to the decision of the portfolio committee not to read her written apology, which was submitted on 6 February 2023".  

The minister appointed new SAT board chairperson Thozamile Botha on Saturday, the third person in the position in three months, said Mahambehlala, who added that he received his appointment letter the same day.

Three board members resigned on Friday after the uproar over the proposed Tottenham Hotspur deal, which would have seen SA pay about R900m for a three-year branding sponsorship from July. – TimesLIVE