The appointment of the SA Tourism CEO was expected to be concluded in December.
Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille announced this on Tuesday, saying the board was prioritising the appointment after a previous attempt to appoint the CEO did not receive concurrence.
Responding to parliamentary questions from DA MP Manny de Freitas, De Lille said the recruitment started in June and would take six months.
“Considering the entity’s experience with previous CEO recruitment processes, it can be anticipated that the process will take up to six months and should therefore be concluded by December 2023,” De Lille said.
Asked about the reasons why the position had not yet been filled, De Lille said the previous process to appoint a CEO did not yield a result.
“The recommendation of the board at the time did not receive the minister’s concurrence as required in terms of the Tourism Act, 2014.
“The current board has prioritised the filling of this vacancy, amongst other critical ones.”
De Lille said the acting CEO, who is the South African Tourism’s chief operating officer, was appointed on May 6.
“The acting CEO was appointed in line with the acting policy and with specific delegation of authority as indicated by the board.”
She said the acting CEO was receiving an acting allowance in line with the entity’s acting policy.
“An allowance of 20% is added to monthly remuneration.
“The allowance is calculated at 20% of notch one of the total cost to the company of the position the acting employee will be appointed into.”
A call for nominations was published in the government gazette in June and the advertisement was then placed in two national newspapers.
“The final closing date for nominations as per the gazette is 6 July 2023,” she said.
Cape Times