De Lille wants 'unlawful' Spurs sponsorship deal scrapped
Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille says she has advised SA Tourism's board to scrap the proposed R1 billion sponsorship deal with Tottenham Hotspur.
The agency said the mooted three-year deal was meant to brand and promote the country as a preferred tourism destination.
It defended the deal, saying the sponsorship of the London-based football club would be beneficial to South Africa.
But the plan has been met with outrage and has caused a political firestorm.
READ: 'There is no deal' - MPs unconvinced by SA Tourism's Spurs explanation
At a briefing on Friday, De Lille said after several consultations, she was advised by the legal team that the sponsorship was unlawful and invalid.
"The sponsorship is, in fact, a procurement event which does not comply with Section 217 of the Constitution, the Treasury instructions issued in terms of the Public Finance Management Act 1 of 1999 (PFMA) and SA Tourism's own Supply Chain Management Policy.
'It appears that the sponsorship is a service which was proposed to be acquired by procurement through ‘sole source’.
"Sole source procurement is, however, only allowed where there is no competition in the market and only one supplier is able to provide the goods or services, which does not appear to be the case here."
