Not the time to overspend, Zille

Western Cape premier Helen Zille has done the DA a few favours over the past month. First there was the furore over her remarks on the benefits engendered by colonialism; now it is the cost of her trip to Asia to promote growth and investment in the province she presides over.

We would have to concede that encouraging an economic upsurge falls very squarely within her remit, but at a cost of more than R1 million, the exercise smacks of verging on excessive expenditure when belts across the country are being tightened.

Zille’s remarks that the exchange rate worked to the detriment of her trip are entirely accurate and it would be cant to blame the state of the economy on her shoulders.

But, deeply as Zille may feel about how the effect of our situation may impact on the Western Cape and its workers, we must question the timing.

And ponder that a less expensive public relations campaign might have served the needs of her province equally as well.