DA wants Minister Godongwana to use R1 billion Tottenham Hotspur sponsor for Eskom’s diesel
The Democratic Alliance wants finance minister Enoch Godongwana to request that the R1 billion for the sponsorship for Tottenham Hotspur be immediately re-allocated to buy diesel for Eskom.
The party’s Dion George said that they will write to Godongwana in a bid to stop the planned sponsorship by South African Tourism (SAT)
He said that the National Treasury repeatedly claimed that there was no additional money for diesel.
“I will be writing to the minister of finance to request that the National Treasury does not authorize this payment and the R1 billion rather be spent on diesel for Eskom so that we can have some relief from the heavy burden of load shedding that is putting businesses under extreme pressure.”
South African Tourism (SAT) said that the sponsorship would yield R88 billion in international spending on the local economy.
SAT acting CEO Mzilikazi Themba Khumalo briefed the media on the sponsorship deal on Thursday.
He said there was no signed contract yet, but that the SAT board had conditionally approved the deal.
Khumalo said when the leak of an internal PowerPoint presentation happened, the board had conditionally approved the deal.
“Somebody maliciously leaked confidential documentation into the press prematurely while the discussion was still being had. The money that is invested in tourism is not the same money for energy or potholes, there are other departments for that.
“Our legislative mandate is about persuading international travelers to spend their money in the country,” Khumalo explained.
Khumalo said before the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism was contributing 6.4% to the country’s gross
domestic product (GDP). This has since dropped to 3.2%.
-EWN
In other news – It ended in tears: Uzalo actress Baby Cele (Gabisile) divorced
Mzansi actress Baby Celehas been in the limelight for two decades and she continues to steal the hearts of many people with her acting prowess and her larger-than-life personality.
Miss Cele has dropped a bombshell that she is divorced. The Uzalo actress who plays Gabisile on the popular SABC1 show, revealed that she is going through the healing process of her divorce privately. “I have mastered divorce, honestly, it doesn’t hurt anymore because I just believe that if a marriage no longer works it should end.” Learn More
