By Professor Parmi Natesan
September is Tourism Month in South Africa but instead of that being the focus, South African Tourism (SAT) made negative headlines for excessive board meetings and overspending on board fees.
The Institute of Directors in South Africa commends Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille for taking this governance concern seriously. De Lille dismissed the chair and deputy chair from their leadership roles on the board, seemingly holding them accountable for the 54 meetings in the six months from March to early September 2024, having spent R900 000 of their R1.44 million annual budget for board fees.
We have seen excessive board meetings in the public sector in the past, often without it being addressed. Overspending is a risk when non-executive director fees are based on a per-meeting calculation, but it can be contained.
Many companies would rather pay an annual retainer fee for a reasonable number of meetings and then a smaller per-meeting fee for additional special meetings as needed for good reason.
