The DA has lambasted tourism minister Patricia de Lille for failing to produce legal advice that motivated her to dissolve the SA Tourism board last year.
After ducking and diving for months, says the DA, De Lille has eventually admitted to not having any written legal opinion that was the basis of her decision.
Shockingly, according to the blue party, De Lille has moved the goalposts, now saying the legal advice she got was in fact one of a verbal nature.
The DA believes that written legal advice, in fact, does exist but does not say what De Lille wanted it to say.
If it does not exist, believes the DA, De Lille has a lot of explaining to do and might be found to have lied and disbanded the board on a frivolous basis.
“The DA can reveal that Minister Patricia de Lille cannot produce any written legal advice for dissolving the board of SA Tourism in 2025,” said the DA’s shadow minister of tourism, Haseena Ismail.
Minister now claims legal advice was verbal
“De Lille told Parliament her decision was based on legal advice, and she committed to the DA in April 2026 to provide the written legal advice, but a month later, in May 2026, she suddenly did an about-turn and now claims she only received ‘verbal legal advice.’
“This is unacceptable, and it appears De Lille is hiding the written legal advice.”
Ismail says the DA believes the board was sent packing to protect SA Tourism CEO Nombulelo Guliwe, who was implicated in the Ngubane Report recommendations.
The report called for action on Guliwe for her alleged role in a significant case of fruitless and wasteful expenditure totaling R4.2-million in 2021, when she was the entity’s CFO.
“The minister’s move to disband the board, despite strong backing from the tourism sector, sparked significant outrage and raised many questions about the process leading to its removal. There were allegations implying that the minister was trying to protect Guliwe. The minister said her decision was based on legal advice received.
“On 14 October 2025, the DA submitted a PAIA request for all documents related to the minister’s decision to remove the well-supported board.
“The initial PAIA was denied, but after the DA filed an appeal, it was granted on 14 April 2026. In the letter accompanying the granted appeal, De Lille confirmed that the written legal advice she had received would be made available to the DA because she relied on it when making the decision to dissolve the board,” said Ismail.
“If it turns out that no written legal advice exists, that would be a serious concern, as the disbanding of the SA Tourism Board was a massive legal step by De Lille.”
- The DA criticizes Tourism Minister Patricia De Lille for failing to provide written legal advice justifying her 2025 decision to dissolve the SA Tourism Board.
- De Lille initially promised to share written legal advice but later claimed it was solely verbal, causing suspicion from the DA.
- The DA suspects the board's dissolution aimed to protect SA Tourism CEO Nombulelo Guliwe, implicated in a 2021 wasteful expenditure report.
- After a PAIA request and subsequent appeal, De Lille confirmed she would release the written legal advice, but none has been produced yet.
- The DA warns that if no written legal advice exists, De Lille may have acted frivolously or dishonestly in disbanding the board, raising serious legal concerns.
After ducking and diving for months, says the DA, De Lille has eventually admitted to not having any written legal opinion that was the basis of her decision.
If it does not exist, believes the DA, De Lille has a lot of explaining to do and might be found to have lied and disbanded the board on a frivolous basis.
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"De Lille told Parliament her decision was based on legal advice, and she committed to the DA in April 2026 to provide the written legal advice, but a month later, in May 2026, she suddenly did an about-turn and now claims she only received 'verbal legal advice.'
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Ismail says the DA believes the board was sent packing to protect SA Tourism CEO
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"On 14 October 2025, the DA submitted a PAIA request for all documents related to the minister's decision to remove the well-supported board.
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"If it turns out that no written legal advice exists, that would be a serious concern, as the disbanding of the SA Tourism Board was a massive legal step by De Lille."
