SA Defence Force chief splashes out R500,000 on flights to Cuba with his wife
The Democratic Alliance says that the chief of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), General Solly Shoke, spent almost R500,000 on plane tickets to Cuba.
A reply to a DA parliamentary question revealed that Shoke, his wife and three other, yet to be identified, officials spent six days on the Caribbean island in June this year.
The political party said that it had been under the impression that the entire trip had cost R500,000, however the parliamentary reply revealed that half a million rand was spent on flights alone – R88,000 each.
The reply:
“A total amount of R442 643.52 was spent on flight tickets on the trip to Cuba by the CSANDF and his delegation from 13-19 June 2016.
“Accommodation, car rental and all other expenses were catered for by the host.”
The DA said it will now be submitting further parliamentary questions to get specific information on:
- What airline the individuals fly with;
- What class did they fly;
- Their full itinerary for the duration of the trip; and
- Whether the flights paid for by the Department of Defence were in line with cost containment measures put in place by the National Treasury?
“This expenditure is completely unacceptable, given that key defence areas are being neglected, essential equipment is falling apart, and we are struggling to manage peace-keeping commitments,” the DA said in a statement.
“National Treasury has also directed Departments to implement cost containment measures given the dire state of our economy. Clearly the Minister of Defence, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, is ignoring National Treasury and equally, is failing to ensure that hard-earned public money is spent effectively,” it said.
Read: “Oyster Box” minister splashes out R500,000 on trip to Chicago
Loading ...