Tottenham deal: Whistleblower information reveals previous WWP dealings with government

23 February 2023

Note to editors: Please find attached soundbite by Manny de Freitas MP

Information provided to the DA by a whistleblower reveals that the WWP Group (the company to be paid £1.5 million (around R31 million) to facilitate the R1-billion Tottenham Hotspur sponsorship deal with South African Tourism [SAT]) has a history of questionable deals with other government authorities.

Media reports also indicated that the SAT Acting Chief Financial Officer, Johan van der Walt had links to the WWP Group. I asked Mr van der Walt about these links at a marathon Tourism Portfolio Committee meeting on 7 February 2023. He confirmed no such links, yet days later the SAT Board suspended him without an explanation to the public. Van der Walt has since resigned.

Information provided to me further revealed that the WWP Group delivered a presentation in August 2022 on the development and implementation of a marketing, investment promotion and communications strategy of the Nkangala District Municipality in Mpumalanga. The WWP group was then appointed without participating in an open tender process.

This information raises questions about other government entities’ relationship with WWP and any contracts or deals in place to this effect. The urgency for the agreed-upon Parliamentary Inquiry into this matter becomes paramount.

Issued by Manny de Freitas, DA Shadow Minister of Tourism, 23 February 2023