Key Takeaways:
- The South African Cabinet spent over R450 million on overseas trips in their first 18 months in office.
- The Ministry of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, and Women, Youth and People with Disabilities spent the most on travel, with amounts ranging from R24.41 million to R32.98 million.
- ActionSA is proposing new laws to regulate perks for public office bearers and is calling for greater accountability and transparency in government spending.
- Some ministers have been evasive or unwilling to provide their travel and accommodation costs, with Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni citing "vague and unjustified security considerations".
- Deputy ministers have also been criticized for their high travel costs, with some spending hundreds of thousands of rands on local car rentals and international trips.
Introduction to the Issue
The South African government has come under fire for its excessive spending on overseas trips, with the Cabinet spending over R450 million in their first 18 months in office. According to ActionSA MP Alan Beesley, this level of spending is "alarming" and reflects a "culture of executive indulgence" among government officials. The party has consolidated written replies from different ministers on their traveling costs since July 2024 and used their GNU performance tracker to calculate the overall costs. The findings have sparked outrage, with many calling for greater accountability and transparency in government spending.
The Big Spenders
The Ministry of Human Settlements, under Thembi Nkadimeng, spent the most on travel, with a total of R32.98 million. The Water and Sanitation Minister, Pemmy Majodina, spent R29.57 million, while the Women, Youth and People with Disabilities Minister, Sindisiwe Chikunga, spent R25.27 million. Other big spenders include the Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment Minister, who spent R24.41 million, and President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office, which spent R24.17 million. These amounts have raised questions about the importance and value of these trips, with many wondering whether the country has benefited from cabinet ministers traveling overseas at such huge costs.
Questioning the Value of Trips
ActionSA has questioned the importance of all these trips and whether the country has benefited from cabinet ministers traveling overseas at huge costs. Beesley has stated that "a 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." He has also pointed out that some ministers have spent enormous amounts of money on travel and accommodation for just a few nights overseas. For example, Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau’s 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.
Proposed Reforms
ActionSA has proposed new laws that will regulate perks for public office bearers and is calling for greater accountability and transparency in government spending. The party believes that appointing deputy ministers is a waste of money and that the current system is unsustainable. Beesley has stated that "South Africans deserve leadership that puts people before perks and not a R450 million travel spree by the world’s largest cabinet." The party is committed to exposing waste, demanding accountability, and fighting for an ethical government that respects every cent of the people’s money.
Ministers Who Did Not Provide Travel Information
Some ministers have been evasive or unwilling to provide their travel and accommodation costs, with Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni citing "vague and unjustified security considerations". 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. 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.
Deputy Ministers’ Travel Costs
Deputy ministers have also been criticized for their high travel costs, with some spending hundreds of thousands of rands on local car rentals and international trips. For example, Trade, Industry and Competition Deputy Minister Zuko Godlimpi spent more than R650,000 on local car rentals in his first eight months in office. The deputy minister’s office in the Department of Health spent R1.05 million on a four-day trip to Japan, while the deputy minister in the Department of Home Affairs spent almost four times more than the minister on local travel and nearly 37% more on international travel.
ANCYL’s Response
The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) has also spoken out against cabinet ministers who venture on fruitless trips overseas. ANCYL president Collen Malatji specifically mentioned President Ramaphosa’s trip to the White House last year, stating that he saw no value in that meeting. Malatji believes that the president and all the ministers who went to Washington to meet US President Donald Trump must pay back the state for that trip. He claimed that "everyone who went to the USA must pay back that money, we did not send them there, they went there on their own."
