Taxpayers have now spent more than R6.18 million on the suspension of SA Tourism chief executive Nombulelo Guliwe.
That is almost one and a half times the R4.18 million payment at the centre of the case against her and there is still no end in sight.
Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille made the disclosure in a written parliamentary reply to ANC MP Altia Sthembile Hlongo.
The reply does not name Guliwe. But it refers to the suspended chief executive officer and gives August 2025 as the start of the suspension. That matches the date the SA Tourism board suspended Guliwe.
Hlongo asked: “In light of the continued lack of clarity regarding the delay in finalising the investigation into the issues that led to the suspension of a certain person (name and details furnished), what (a) total amount has been spent on the suspension of the specified person to date and (b) measures have been taken to hold those responsible for misconduct accountable and prevent further wastage of public funds?”
De Lille replied: “The full amount that has been spent on the matter of the suspended Chief Executive Officer to date is as follows: Salary as legislated during a precautionary suspension R3,642,784.74 (August 2025 – September 2026). Interim CEO Salary (June 2026 – September 2026) R751,165.89. Total Legal Fees R1,786,628.07. Total R6,180,587.70.”
On accountability, the minister gave one line: “The matter of the suspended Chief Executive Officer remains open.”
She did not say what has been done to hold anyone accountable. She did not say what has been done to stop the losses.
The bill is growing fast. In June, De Lille told Parliament that Guliwe had been paid R2.31 million in full pay and benefits from August 2025 to April 2026. By September 2026 that figure had climbed to R3.64 million. That is another R1.33 million in five months.
On top of that, SA Tourism paid R751,165.89 in four months to the interim CEO who is doing her job, and R1.79 million in legal fees.
The minister has given Parliament no timeline.
In July, answering DA MP Haseena Ismail, De Lille said: “The matter is still with the South African Tourism Board. I wrote to the Board Chairperson to request a formal report on the outcome of the matter. I am awaiting his written response.”
In September, IFP MP Noma Buthelezi asked whether that report had arrived. De Lille said the board had not finalised the matter or submitted the report. She declined to give more details, saying early disclosure would compromise the process and breach labour-related confidentiality.
In August, the DA’s Ismail called on the new board to bring the matter to an end. She said Guliwe had been “suspended on full pay, draining taxpayer money, for far too long.”
The previous SA Tourism board suspended Guliwe on 13 August 2025.
The case centres on a R4.18 million advance payment made in July 2021 to WWP Group for Dubai Expo work. Guliwe was SA Tourism’s chief financial officer at the time.
The Auditor-General flagged the payment as a material irregularity. A forensic investigation by Ngubane found it was made without contractual provision. Investigators could not confirm that SA Tourism received any value for the money. The report recommended consequence management against Guliwe and recovery of the funds.
WWP Group has denied that it was paid for work it did not do. The board also cited Guliwe’s suspension of two senior staff members who had lodged grievances against her.
A week later, De Lille dissolved the board. She said it had acted unlawfully because it had no chairperson at the time. Board chair Gregory Davids had resigned on 31 July.
Guliwe stayed suspended. The DA, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) and the Tourism Business Council criticised the dissolution. De Lille denied that she was protecting Guliwe.
An interim board then ran SA Tourism for a year. In that time the entity went through three acting or interim CEOs: Darryl Erasmus, Dr Shamilla Chettiar and Sechaba Motsieloa.
The cost of Erasmus’s and Chettiar’s acting stints is not included in the minister’s figures.
In August 2026, De Lille told the portfolio committee that the interim board had completed its disciplinary process and sent her several options, according to Tourism Update. She said she sent her decision back, but the interim board could not finalise the matter.
A new 11-member board took office on 11 August 2026. Its permanent chairperson was still to be gazetted at the time of the announcement.
It is the third board to deal with Guliwe’s case. The Special Investigating Unit is separately probing SA Tourism under Proclamation 297 of 2025.
Africa Daily has sent questions to De Lille’s office. Their response will be added once received.