Update

PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - Peter Wallington last week handed in his resignation from the position of chairperson at Plett Tourism Association, and will be saying his final goodbye to the tourism body at the end of the month after a successful six-year tenure in the driving seat.

Commenting on his resignation and the reasons for the move, Wallington kept it short and sweet. "Over the years it became increasingly difficult to do my job as chairman.

"We started off with a blank piece of paper and we have built and are still building a reasonable brand." But, he added, there is more work to be done to further the brand, which will "take time and more investments".

Looking back though, Wallington said he is pleased with his time as chairman. "I had a very dedicated team that worked very hard over the years, and I'm very happy with my time as chairman, I'm very glad I took on the job."

'Period of uncertainty'
In a press statement issued on 14 June, the newly appointed acting chair Bruce Richardson said, "Peter was the first 'CEO' of Plett Tourism, appointed shortly after the completion of the considerable formalities necessary to form Plett Tourism and enter into a memorandum of agreement with Bitou Municipality to take over the tourism function of the municipality." However, after a three-year period in which "the reawakening of Plettenberg Bay became the talk of the Garden Route", a period of uncertainty followed, according to Richardson.

He said it was the "apparent slashing" of the town's tourism budget that ultimately led to Wallington's resignation. "The latest and terminal development has been the apparent slashing of the Plett Tourism budget to half of previously inadequate levels. That is why Peter is leaving Plett Tourism at the end of this month and why Plett Tourism is struggling to maintain momentum," Richardson stated. When pressed, Wallington did acknowledge that this had indeed been the final nail in the coffin for him.

'Taxing on entire team'
Richardson also made it blatantly clear that the past few years' happenings within the Plett Tourism structures have been taxing on the entire team, not just Wallington. "The stress of this ongoing situation has severely impacted on the lives and health of not only Peter but all members of the Plett Tourism team who have worked incredibly hard under very difficult circumstances without the assurance of an ongoing income," Richardson explained.

Even with his imminent departure, Wallington was thankful for the help he had received from the team, according to Richardson. "In tendering his resignation Peter was at great pains to thank the team at Plett Tourism for their extraordinary contribution to the building of the Plett brand over the last six years under the most difficult of circumstances," Richardson said.

'No ill feelings'
In response to the claim that the tourism budget had been "slashed", Bitou Municipality's spokesperson Manfred van Rooyen indicated that despite the fact that Plett Tourism is not an agency of the municipality, and that its memorandum of agreement with the municipality ends on 30 June 2019, it still provided room in its 2019/20 budget for the organisation.

"The municipality has included in its budget an extended role for Plett Tourism for 2019/20," Van Rooyen said. "The total contribution of the municipality towards the tourism industry for the 2019/20 financial year – which includes township tourism development, destination marketing and branding – totals R4 750 000."

Van Rooyen said, based on Plett Tourism's own financial reporting during the past financial year, the municipality had set aside R2 million for the tourism entity.

He added that this decision had been based on the relevant and applicable National Treasury Circulars, the most recent being a circular announcing austerity and cost containment measures to curtail the use of consultants and also the performance with regard to the existing memorandum of agreement.

He also stated that the municipality had no "ill-feelings towards Plett Tourism", nor would such an allegation have a factual basis.

Knysna-Plett Herald will publish the municipality's full response, as well as comment from Plett Tourism Association in reaction thereto, in its next edition/online.

Read a previous article here: Plett Touris chairman resignation ultimately due to budget cuts

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