Home

ANC to pay back money used for minister’s Zimbabwe trip

Reading Time: 2 minutes

The African National Congress (ANC) has been invoiced to pay an amount of just nearly R106 000 to the South African National Defence Force for the cost of party members’ trip to Harare, Zimbabwe between the 8th and 9th of September.

In a supplementary report to President Cyril Ramaphosa, Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula calculates the cost of the return flight on a Falcon 900 plane as just over R232 000, with the 5 member ANC delegation needing to pay just over R21 000 each.

In her report to the President, Mapisa-Nqakula explains that she offered the delegation a lift as she was already scheduled to meet with her counterpart in Zimbabwe on those dates.

Meanwhile, the president has issued a formal reprimand against her, docked her salary for three months starting from the 1st of November and directed she ensures that the ANC reimburses the state for the costs of the flight. The President said that Mapisa-Nqakula did not act in the interest of good governance and failed to act within the law regarding the trip.

The Presidency also said that Ramaphosa told Mapisa-Nqakula to ensure that the ANC reimburses the state for the trip.

“The President has also directed the Minister to make sure that the ANC reimburses the state for the costs of the flight to Harare and to report to him once that has been done.”

Adding that: “The President took this action after his consideration of the Minister’s initial report and a supplementary report that the President had directed the Minister to provide on the circumstances that led to the ANC delegation travelling on a South African Air Force plane. While the Minister was on an official trip for which the President had given permission and for which she was entitled to use a SAAF aircraft, the President found that it was an error of judgment to use the plane to convey a political party delegation.”

President Ramaphosa issues Mapisa-Nqakula with an official reprimand: 

 

Author

MOST READ