Cogta minister, deputies spent R10m on travel since taking office

ActionSA has raised concern about the amount of taxpayers' money spent by the department of co-operative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) on travel expenses since the new administration took office.

In a parliamentary written reply, Cogta minister Velenkosini Hlabisa said the total spent on international and domestic travel for the minister and his two deputies was R10,042,435 — of which R3,462,238 was spent on Hlabisa, while deputy minister Zolile Burns-Ncamashe incurred expenses of R3,959,611 and deputy minister Namane Masemola spent R2,620,586.

These expenses include trips to countries such as Germany, Namibia, China, Ethiopia, Brazil, Tanzania and Zimbabwe for meetings and other events.

ActionSA MP Alan Beesley criticised Hlabisa for the extravagant spending, emphasising that many ordinary South Africans are struggling to make ends meet.

“Our municipalities are struggling ... either through financial mismanagement of their own doing or through the glaring lack of resources which this staggering travel bill would have gone some way to alleviating,” Beesley said. 

“The information highlights a disturbing continuation of old habits in the GNU, a reliance on costly and extravagant travel arrangements despite the mounting socioeconomic challenges faced by ordinary South Africans. Under the guise of official duties, taxpayer money is being drained to fund what appears to be lavish travel expenditure.”

Beesley highlighted that ActionSA's GNU performance tracker, which monitors government performance metrics, including travel expenses, found that the combined travel costs of the ministries of minerals and petroleum resources and Cogta total R11,964,756 in less than a year.

Beesley reiterated ActionSA's call for stricter regulation of travel expenses for government officials, including:

• disclosure of travel class and justification for costs exceeding predetermined thresholds;
• audits of travel arrangements to identify potential wastage; and
• prioritisation of local engagement and the use of digital platforms for international collaboration where possible.

“ActionSA is committed to championing a government that places the needs of South Africans first, not the comforts of its ministers. We will continue to demand accountability on behalf of the citizens whose hard-earned taxes fund these extravagances.”

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