GNU extravagance makes a mockery of austerity measures

WHEN Deputy President Paul Mashatile appeared before Parliament to answer questions as is required in terms of the Constitution, he found himself having to respond to questions which went beyond his political work but touched on issues related to the current state of the country’s finances.

- PROF BHEKI MNGOMEZULU

Dr Teboko Letlape from ActionSA asked for a complete updated breakdown of all official travels by Mashatile since he assumed office on July 3, 2024. This included information about the purpose of each visit and whether it was justified or not; details about the countries visited; costs involved on each trip; the names and roles of each member of the delegation; and any additional costs on each trip.

While this appeared to be a normal question-and-answer session which both the president and deputy president must honour, the questions triggered a debate which has caught the attention of many South Africans.

For the past few days, there has been a war of words among different constituencies regarding Mashatile’s expenses on international trips.

The bone of contention is about the amounts involved in these international trips which include countries such as Botswana, France, Ireland, Japan, the UK and Zimbabwe.

For the Japan trip, one source placed the figure at a staggering R580582. Responding to this figure, Mashatile’s office released a statement this week arguing that most of the figures (including this one) were blown out of proportion. The statement said that the cost for the Japan trip was less than R66 000.

Among other things, the statement reminded the country that South Africa must strengthen relations with other countries.

It also indicated that some of Mashatile's trips were undertaken following President Ramaphosa’s decision to delegate him (Mashatile) while he was busy with other assignments. To take the nation into confidence, Mashatile's office provided what it called “correct” figures and other related information.