New SAT board in administrative bungle even before it is appointed
20 June 2023
Since the dissolution of the previous South African Tourism (SAT) board, the DA, and every member of the Tourism Portfolio Committee, has been adamant about getting a proper replacement SAT board in place. Gazette Notice 1859 of 7 June 2023 (see attachment) inviting nominations for a new SAT Board was, therefore, most welcome.
Since the publication of this gazette, the Department of Tourism website has been offline (see attachment) until yesterday.
The Tourism Act indicates in clause 13 (3) (b) that the notice in the gazette “must specify a period of at least 30 days for nominations to be submitted to the Minister.” The gazette presumes that nominations may be submitted within the entire prescribed period since the publication of the gazette in the first place. As of yesterday, 12 days had passed without any interested party being able to apply via the website. As an additional and experimental measure, on 9 June 2023 I sent an email to the address indicated in the gazette requesting an application form for the nomination of a SAT board member. To date, nothing had been received.
The gazette explicitly indicates that nominations must be in writing and must contain, amongst other requirements, the following; “A duly completed and signed Declaration and Consent Form available on the website of Department of Tourism, accessible at: www.tourism.gov.za or on request from [email protected]”.