Public protector must probe Sisulu: Cosatu

12 November 2012 - 21:47 By Sapa
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Lindiwe Sisulu. File photo.
Lindiwe Sisulu. File photo.
Image: Trevor Samson

The Congress of the SA Trade Unions has called on the Public Protector to investigate former defence minister Lindiwe Sisulu following claims that she abused the defence force's jets.

"If true, [this] amounts to a monstrous waste of public funds by an elected public representative," Cosatu spokesman Patrick Craven said on Monday.

Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula recently told Parliament that Sisulu took 203 trips in SA National Defence Force Gulfstream jets while she was defence minister between 2009 and earlier this year.

According to reports, around R200,000 was spent on return flights for Sisulu from Lanseria, via the Waterkloof Air Force Base in Pretoria, to Ysterplaat in Cape Town.

This excluded costs for the pilot, crew, food and landing.

On Saturday Sisulu, who is now minister of public administration, denied Mapisa-Nqakula's claims, dismissing the information as false and misleading.

She asked for an apology and a correction.

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