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ActionSA have called for a revision of the ministerial handbook after the defence minister joined Cogta in having excessive travel costs.
Image for illustrative purposes. Picture: iStock
The Ministry of Defence and Military Veterans has spent over R10 million on travel since the beginning of the seventh parliament.
The Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) ministry recently revealed their R10 million travel expenses, while the minister of Small Business Development (SBD) has been accused of not submitting accurate travel expenses.
Defence Minister Angie Motshekga is currently in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) assessing the South African Defence Force’s efforts in the region.
R6.6 million on airfare
Motshekga’s trip to the DRC is not included in the figures, which were provided via a written response to a parliamentary question submitted by ActionSA’s Lerato Ngobeni.
The January response stated that the minister and her deputies had spent R2.1 million on car hire and over R300 000 on shuttle services since taking office in July.
ALSO READ: Seven international trips in six months for Cogta ministers cost R10 million
On airfares alone, the ministry spent R2.6 million on domestic air travel and R4 million – R800 000 a month – on international travel in the five months before the response was submitted.
Ngobeni also requested the justification for the trips as well as destinations, but neither piece of information was forthcoming.
The list of expenses provided excluded meals, but the ministry’s combined accommodation bill came to R1.3 million.
Ndabeni-Abrahams’ under-reported expenses
ActionSA raised more questions about travel expenses earlier this week, stating they would ask parliament to probe SBD Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams’ travel expenses.
The party accuse Ndabeni-Abrahams of underreporting her travel expenses by R500 000 for the first four months of her tenure.
“This pattern of providing unreliable information to parliamentary questions is emblematic of an executive that views oversight as a nuisance rather than a cornerstone of accountability,” said ActionSA’s Kgosi Letlape.
The party is calling for changes in executive perks, including the revision of the ministerial handbook, the streamlining of cabinet and the discontinuation of the deputy minister position.
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