\n\t\tActionSA believes that the Cabinet must cut its spending on overseas trips.\n\t<\/p>\n
President Cyril Ramaphosa and his Cabinet spent over R450 million in their first 18 months in office travelling around the world.<\/p>\n
According to ActionSA MP Alan Beesley, the party consolidated written replies from different ministers on their travelling costs since July 2024.<\/p>\n
The party also used their GNU performance tracker to calculate the overall costs.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt a time of deep economic crisis, with 12 million South Africans unemployed and essential public services severely lacking, this level of spending reflects an alarming profligacy and an out-of-touch misuse of taxpayer funds,\u201d Beesley said.<\/p>\n
Who are the big spenders in Ramaphosa\u2019s government?<\/p>\n
The big spenders include the Ministry of Human Settlements, under Thembi Nkadimeng, they spent R32.98 million.<\/p>\n
The charismatic Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina spent R29.57 million.<\/p>\n
Women, Youth and People with Disabilities Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga spent R25.27 million. <\/p>\n
She allegedly spent R5 million on air tickets since assuming office.<\/p>\n
Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment, under axed Minister Dion George, replaced by the DA\u2019s Willie Aucamp spent R24.41 million.<\/p>\n
President Cyril Ramaphosa\u2019s office spent R24.17 million.<\/p>\n
ALSO READ: Angie Motshekga\u2019s defence ministry to spend over R10 million on travel<\/a><\/p>\n Beesly questioned the importance of all these trips and whether the country has benefited from cabinet ministers travelling overseas at huge costs.<\/p>\n \u201cA culture of executive indulgence is evident across GNU departments, with several instances of travel spending that are grossly disproportionate to both duration and public value,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He said a number of ministers had spent an enormous amount of money on travel and accommodation for just a few nights overseas.<\/p>\n Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau, office spent R2.12 million on just three nights in New York in September 2024, followed by a further R1.5 million for a one-week trip to Washington DC in July 2024.<\/p>\n Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, incurred R2.75 million for a seven-night visit to New York in September last year, alongside R1.33 million for two days in Brazil and R1.18 million for a one-week trip to the United Kingdom (UK).<\/p>\n ActionSA targets Cabinet reform and executive oversight<\/p>\n ActionSA has since proposed new laws that will regulate perks for public office bearers; they also believe appointing deputy ministers is a waste of money.<\/p>\n \u201cSouth Africans deserve leadership that puts people before perks and not a R450 million travel spree by the world\u2019s largest cabinet.<\/p>\n \u201cActionSA will not allow the political elite to hide behind bureaucracy and live in luxury while South Africans struggle.<\/p>\n READ MORE:\u00a0Call for stricter rules as Mantashe\u2019s ministry spends nearly R2 million on international travel<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe will continue to expose waste<\/a>, demand accountability and fight for an ethical government that respects every cent of the people\u2019s money,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He said some ministers were evasive, while others were did not want to provide the party with their travel and accommodation costs.<\/p>\n Ministers who did not provide their travel information<\/p>\n Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, allegedly withheld travel cost details by invoking vague and unjustified security considerations. <\/p>\n Ntshavheni is in charge of state security.<\/p>\n READ MORE:\u00a0Seven international trips in six months for Cogta ministers cost R10 million<\/a><\/p>\n Deputy President Paul Mashatile allegedly declined to provide updated figures after ActionSA exposed the cost of his Japan trip, which included more than R900 000 for four nights of hotel accommodation.<\/p>\n Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson and Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi allegedly allowed questions to lapse by failing to submit updated travel expense Information.<\/p>\n Deputy ministers\u2019 travel costs<\/p>\n Deputy ministers are also guilty of spending enormous amounts of money on flights and accommodation.<\/p>\n \u201cDeputy ministers have proven equally complicit in this culture of excess.<\/p>\n \u201cTrade, Industry and Competition Deputy minister Zuko Godlimpi spent more than R650,000 on local car rentals in his first eight months in office.<\/p>\n READ MORE:\u00a0Two deputy ministers\u2019 offices rack up R14 million salary bill<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIn the Department of Health, the deputy minister\u2019s office spent R1.05 million on a four-day trip to Japan.<\/p>\n \u201cMeanwhile, a reply from the Department of Home Affairs shows that between July and November last year, the deputy minister spent almost four times more than the minister on local travel and nearly 37% more on international travel,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n ANCYL on US trip by SA government<\/p>\n During a Peter Mokaba Lecture in the North West, ANCYL president Collen Malatji also spoke out against cabinet ministers who venture on fruitless trips overseas.<\/p>\n