Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning
- How much money does the Swellendam Municipality contribute to the Swellendam Tourism Office on a monthly basis, (b) from which other sources does it receive funds, (c) how is the utilization of these funds monitored and (d) what is it specifically used for;
- Whether the Swellendam Tourism Office recently advertised any vacancies; if so, (a) which position(s) were advertised, (b) how many were filled (c) what criteria/process was used to shortlist possible candidates, (d) who was/were the successful candidate/s and (e) what are their qualifications?
1(a) The municipal allocation to Swellendam Tourism Organisation for the financial 2014/15 year totals R1 060 000.00 payable in 11 installments of R90 000.00 and one final installment of R70 000.00.
(b) Swellendam Tourism Organisation (STO) supplements its budget through membership fees, bringing in a further R50 000 – R80 000 per annum and by offsetting the costs of destination marketing materials by selling advertising space. STO also received funding totaling R262 218.00 from the Western Cape Department of Social Development to implement nutrition programmes in Railton and Suurbraak. STO does not derive any financial benefit from this service; it merely acts as an implementer.
(c) STO provides monthly tax invoices, narrative reports and financial statements
to the Municipality. The Swellendam Municipality and Council each have permanent seats on the STO Executive Committee, which meets every month and holds a public AGM every August. STO submits Annual Reports to the Non-Profit Organisation Directorate and the municipality.
(d) The Swellendam Tourism Office renders tourism functions of the Municipality in terms of a Service Level Agreement in place since 2010 which sets out STO’s obligations. STO manages Visitor Information Centres at Swellendam, Suurbraak and Barrydale, employing 10 local people, plus another two people at the Suurbraak Feeding Scheme. The expenditure is used for administration, staff expenses, marketing and development and according to the STO the budget is divided as follows for the 2014/15 financial year:
|
Cost |
Annually |
Monthly |
Percentage |
|
Administration |
765,556 |
63,796 |
72 % |
|
Marketing |
235,555 |
19,630 |
22 % |
|
Development |
58,889 |
4,907 |
6 % |
|
TOTAL |
1,060,000 |
83,333 |
100 % |
2 (a) to (e).
The STO advertised several posts, being three year contracts relating directly to the Swellendam Economic Empowerment Partnership (STEEP) jobs fund project.
It should be noted these posts do not relate to the current Service Level Agreement between the Municipality and the STO. The cost for these posts will also not from part of the municipal budget. The Municipality’s involvement in STEEP is limited to the cash contributions for the upgrading of the Swellendam Caravan Park and in-kind contributions towards the implementation of STEEP relating to the availability of municipal assets such as buildings to be utilised for tourism related activities. The Municipality was not involved in the recruitment of the candidates for the posts as specified.
The details of the posts advertised, criteria used, persons employed and qualifications are as follows:
- Deputy Director Marketing was advertised in local press and nationally by electronic means. A systematic and independent process of shortlisting was followed to identify 3 candidates for interview from 23 applicants. No single candidate fulfilled all of the stated criteria, but two exceptional and complementary candidates emerged at the interview. The STO resolved to restructure the post in two and made the following appointments as from
01 February 2015 and 01 March 2015, respectively:
I. Deputy Project Director: Mr Juan van Schalkwyk, BComm, Marketing & BComm (Hons) Strategic Marketing, with international experience with effect 01 March 2015.
II. Head of Marketing: Ms Alison Coughlan, Matric Certificate and relevant
experience in professional development with effect 01 February 2015.
- Deputy Director Enterprise Development was advertised in the local press and nationally by electronic means. A systematic and independent process of shortlisting was followed to identify 3 candidates for interview from 35 applicants. Again, two exceptional and complementary candidates emerged at interview. The STO resolved to restructure the post in two and made offers to two candidates;
I. Head of Development, which offer was declined, and the post must be re-advertised.
II. Head of Project Operations, which offer was accepted but the appointment has not yet been finalized.
- Executive Coordinator was advertised in local press and nationally by electronic means. A systematic and independent process of shortlisting was followed to identify 5 candidates for interview from 23 applicants. The successful candidate was Ms Audrey Jantjies, Matric Certificate and relevant experience in professional development with effect 01 April 2015.
- Community Sports Tourism Development Officer was advertised in local press. Three applications were received; two qualifying candidates were interviewed on 20 March 2015. The successful applicant to assume duty subject to signing of contract on 01 April 2015.
