Mashatile, Ministers under fire for R200 million travel bill, including R900,000 Japan stay
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) has thrown its support behind a new bill aimed at reining in unchecked benefits for ministers.
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Ministers in the Government of National Unity (GNU) have spent more than R200 million in travel expenses since assuming office last year, ActionSA revealed.
The party said this figure was compiled through its GNU Performance Tracker, following the latest replies to our parliamentary questions submitted to every Minister, including the President, Deputy President, and the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture.
This painted a damning picture of executive indulgence at a time of deep economic crisis, ActionSA said in a statement.
This week, the party revealed that Deputy President Paul Mashatile and his staff have incurred over R2 million in travel-related expenses for transport and accommodation since last year
This included spending over R900,000 on just four nights' accommodation in Japan.
In a written reply, Mashatile said all these occurred due to his international trips: to Ireland, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and, recently, Japan. He stood in for President Cyril Ramaphosa on other trips.
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In addition to this, Sports Minister, Gayton McKenzie, and his department have spent about R6.6 million on international travel.
Among the most shocking items is a R164,556 payment for a trip to Burkina Faso that never took place.
'Not only is this spending exorbitant, but it is riddled with red flags, gaps, and inconsistencies,' it added.
ActionSA said the public paid for flights and accommodation for an event that was ultimately abandoned, a textbook case of wasteful expenditure, as defined by the Public Finance Management Act.
Defending his ministry, McKenzie said it would not be right to expect ministers not to fly business class on long flights.
In a statement, ActionSA MP Alan Beesley condemned these as wasteful expenditures, saying that it was enough to build a decent home for a family in need for each night they spent in luxury.
'South Africans deserve leadership that puts people before perks and not an R200 million travel spree by the world's largest cabinet,' Beesley said.
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