Stop dipping into the taxpayer’s pocket

If there is one thing our government does well, it’s wasting taxpayers’ money. It’s always so much easier to splurge when it’s not your money to lose.

Poor decisions, rampant corruption and just careless misuse of public funds are the order of the day.

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Our powers that be, especially, like to throw money at the problem when it comes to court cases, with a certain ex-president and former public protector chief culprits when it comes to using our hard-earned money to fight their legal issues and personal matters.

So, when Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi this week revealed that his department had paid almost R120 million in court battles in 11 months, from April 2023 to the end of February this year, it came as no real surprise.

What’s another R117 692 996.30 to go with the previous year’s R72 637 944.51, taking the last five years litigation fees to just shy of R300 million for home affairs?

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Par for the course? It shouldn’t be, as it’s just more money that could have been better used for the people of the country.

How about spending that money on food for the poor, improving infrastructure or creating much-needed jobs? We understand home affairs and other departments often need to head to the courts to defend some of their decisions.

All we ask is that more care is taken before we dip into taxpayers’ pockets. It’s the least we deserve.