South African Tourism CEO Sisa Ntshona found not guilty of charges

Inquiry committee issues statement clearing him of any misconduct
2019-12-16
/
/ Kolkata
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The suspended CEO of the South African Tourism, Sisa Ntshona is expected to resume his duties as he has been cleared of all the charges allegedly levied against him.

The South African Tourism Board has issued a statement that says: “Following a thorough process which saw a forensic investigation and a disciplinary hearing take place, Mr Ntshona has been cleared of all charges brought against him. The board is pleased that the process has finally been concluded and that the organisation can return to normality.”

The board also thanked Sthembiso Dlamini, the chief operating officer who acted as the CEO during the nine-month absence of Sisa Nthshona.

The tourism board had placed Ntshona on precautionary suspension in April this year after receiving an anonymous tip-off from a whistle-blower. The board remained mum on the nature of the investigations and Ntshona himself had said he didn’t know why he was suspended.

The official statement from the board issued in April had stated, “The board is obligated to thoroughly investigate these allegations, in the best interest of all parties concerned. In order to conduct a free and fair investigation, the board has decided to place the CEO on precautionary suspension. This would allow the CEO to focus on responding to the allegations as well as guarantee the integrity and transparency of the process to be followed.”

The investigation was conducted by the internationally acclaimed corporate and commercial law firm Bowmans and finalised in July. The department of tourism in the government of South Africa, which saw a change in leadership from Derek Hanekom to Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane in May, confirmed to South African parliament in July that the investigation into Ntshona had been finalised. While addressing concerns over the department of tourism’s audit outcomes and performance, minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane touched on the allegations, of which she was given a report. Kubayi-Ngubane said the details will only be revealed once the process has been concluded.

Putting the entire statement document on his Twitter page, Sisa Ntshona commented, “the thing speaks for itself”.

The full statement issued on behalf of the South African Tourism Board

‘’The independent investigation and disciplinary enquiry into the allegations made against South African Tourism (SA Tourism) chief executive officer (CEO), Mr Sisa Ntshona, has been completed.

The SA Tourism Board received the final adjudication on December 13, 2019, from the team working on the disciplinary hearing, and the minister of tourism, has been appraised of this outcome.

Following a thorough process which saw a forensic investigation and a disciplinary hearing take place, Mr Ntshona has been cleared of all charges brought against him.

The board is pleased that the process has finally been concluded and that the organisation can return to normality.

The board welcomes back Mr Ntshona and looks forward to continue working with him as we seek to grow tourist arrivals in our sector and to build a stable organisation.

Mr Ntshona returns to his position as CEO of SA Tourism immediately and will resume his office duties after the festive season vacation.

The board would also like to take this opportunity to thank Ms. Sthembiso Dlamini for the sterling work that she did as acting CEO.”

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