SA Tourism has again come under fire in Parliament this time for only achieving 89 of the 55 targets set for the fourth quarter of the 2024/25 financial year despite overspending its allocated full-year budget by more than R24 million US1.3 million.
SA Tourisms fourth quarter performance report, presented to the Portfolio Committee on Tourism on July 15, highlights particular struggles within the entitys corporate support programme with only 75 of targets met. The missed targets relate specifically to risk management and the implementation of financial audit findings.
The entity failed to develop a 2024/25 risk management maturity assessment, which includes measures such as the development of operational risk registers, a risk management policy, and an anti-fraud and corruption policy.
Only 73 of the 39 recommendations made by the Auditor-General and internal audit were finalised by the close of the financial year on March 31 although this has subsequently risen to 95, according to the performance report.
Within the leisure tourism marketing programme which commands the largest chunk of SA Tourisms budget the entity was unable to provide a portfolio of evidence for the execution of its global brand campaign , which was only launched on the final day of the financial year.