'Groot skelms' annoy Stofile

Pretoria - Airlines and the hospitality industry should not overcharge over the Football World Cup to the detriment of future tourism, Sports Minister Makhenkesi Stofile said on Friday.

"Nobody wants to be fleeced like that and never come back to our country," Stofile told a media briefing in Pretoria after a 2010 inter-ministerial committee meeting.

"It's a serious injustice. They are going to go home and convince themselves we are a bunch of 'groot skelms'."

Stofile said government was concerned about the Competition Commission's recent announcement it was investigating price collusion in the airline industry."We'll await the report but we really want to enjoin airlines not to milk the people... It's not right."

He also urged hotels, restaurants and the like to not up their prices exorbitantly to exploit customers.

The hospitality industry had signed an agreement in 2004 which set a benchmark on prices.

However, since then new businesses had entered the market and were exempt from these conditions.

"We have consistently pleaded with South Africans not to fall into this temptation," said Stofile.

- Sapa