Govt denies cover-up of Zuma's flight schedule

PARLIAMENT - Government on Tuesday side-stepped opposition objections to President Jacob Zuma’s flight details being kept secret, saying classified information was overseen by Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Defence.

Defence ministry spokesman Ndivhuwo Mabaya said Democratic Alliance MP David Maynier had preferred public grandstanding to approaching the relevant body to obtain the information for oversight purposes.

“It is in this Committee that any sensitive and classified information from the South African National Defence Force must be tabled.

“However the member of Parliament ignored this rule because his main interest is not receiving the information for oversight purposes, but for media grandstanding.”

Maynier on Monday objected to Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu’s decision to classify details of Zuma’s flights.

In written reply to a parliamentary question on Monday, Sisulu said Zuma undertook 27 international and 133 domestic flights from May 9 last year to date.

Maynier had asked Sisulu for details of each flight, including the dates, departure and arrival points, and the costs involved.

Sisulu declined to answer, saying the “information required is classified and may not be made public”.

She also advised him to put this request to the Joint Standing Committee on Defence and Military Veterans, instead.

In a statement later, Maynier said this information had been made public in the past.

Sisulu’s reply raised questions about why she was “now covering up details about flights” undertaken by Zuma.

“The fact is that the minister’s refusal to provide full information on flights undertaken by President Jacob Zuma is part of a trend of defence department resistance to being properly accountable to Parliament.

“The real question is what is the minister trying to cover up. Is she trying to cover up details of the routing of the aircraft, the names of the passengers or the exorbitant costs of operating the aircraft?” Maynier asked.

The question comes amid intense debate about the Protection of Information Bill, which critics say will give the state near unchecked power to classify information.

-Sapa

Cele: I can afford to carry R20000 & not report it's loss

"How much do I earn? I can afford to have that amount of money with me with the salary I earn."

This was national police commissioner General Bheki Cele's response when asked why he was carrying R20,000 in a bag which was stolen off an SAA business-class flight in May.

Responding to questions posed by DA MP Dianne Kohler Barnard this week, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa confirmed in a written reply to Parliament that the stolen bag containing R20,000 belonged to Cele.

This comes after it was alleged that Cele had not reported the incident to the police.

On Wednesday, Cele said he had reported the incident to police at OR Tambo International Airport but had not had time to open a case docket. The matter was, therefore, not investigated.

Mthethwa had said an investigation had taken place, but he did not provide details.

Cele was returning from KwaZulu-Natal after having attended to official business when the money was stolen.

Mthethwa said the money was Cele's private money and was not intended for public use.

Asked by Kohler Barnard whether it was standard for the commissioner to carry such a large amount of cash on his person, Mthethwa said there were no further details.

Kohler Barnard has submitted follow-up questions to the ministry to flesh out the details of the case. She was not satisfied with the response as there were too many unanswered questions.

Kohler Barnard added: "I find it most peculiar and odd that we have a police commissioner who would choose to carry that amount of cash in a bag."

In June, a weekly newspaper reported that Cele's residence in Durban had been burgled. It was alleged that R1 million in cash had been stolen.

But the commissioner said the report was fabricated. "My house was never broken into, I don't know where that story came from," he said.

Cele said he earns more than R1m a year. "Do the calculations yourself. I can afford to draw that amount; not once, not twice, but as many times as I like," he said.- The Star

Government 'blows R1,5bn on luxuries'

Since taking office, President Jacob Zuma's government has spent a total of R1,5-billion on luxury cars, five-star hotel accommodation, parties, tickets for sports events and "self-congratulatory" advertising, the DA said on Thursday.

"This kind of spending represents a gross misallocation of public funds," Democratic Alliance national spokeswoman Lindiwe Mazibuko told a parliamentary media briefing.

The R1,5-billion was R500-million more than the figure reported by her party in April this year, she said.

According to the DA's latest Wasteful Expenditure Monitor, released at the briefing, the national department to "waste" the most was public works.

"It spent approximately R99-million on upgrades to the residences of public officials when the Zuma administration came into office," the document states.

The document says the most wasteful provincial government, "by quite a large margin", is African National Congress-run KwaZulu-Natal.

"It spent R120,5-million on a variety of items, including unnecessary rental space, luxury cars and artwork."

Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu was responsible for the biggest expenditure on cars since April, her department having spent about R7-million on four Mercedes-Benz vehicles.

The monitor says the total spent on new vehicles by Zuma's government now totals R65,8-million.

The total spent on parties, conferences and similar events now totalled R209-million, including R300 000 spent on a party by the Tshwane Metro Council to celebrate executive mayor Gwen Ramokgopa's state of the city address and a gala dinner at the Pretoria city hall.

The document also contains details of the millions spent on World Cup tickets by Cabinet members, municipalities and state-owned enterprises.

The biggest spender in this regard was the department of transport, which forked out R20-million for the event. Trade and industry spent R16,7-million, while Eskom spent R12-million on tickets.

The total spent on tickets to sporting events was R135,9-million.

According to the monitor, the state has also spent R209-million on parties and conferences, and a further R241-million on "unnecessary property rentals, hotel stays and property renovations".

This included R65-million for "upgrades to facilities servicing President Zuma's private home at Nkandla", which came in the form of a helicopter pad, clinic, visitors' centre and parking lot, among others.

It also included the R515 000 spent by Communications Minister Siphiwe Nyanda on "prolonged stays" at luxury five-star establishments, including Cape Town's Mount Nelson and Twelve Apostles hotels.

Asked if a portion of the total R1,5-billion spent by government could not be deemed "necessary" expenditure, Mazibuko conceded it could be, but said the scale of government's wasteful spending was such that this "wouldn't make much of a dent" in the total figure.

She said the fact that the total had increased by R500 000 over the past three months was "incredibly depressing", and it appeared that the ANC was ignoring Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan's call last year to curb such spending.

According to the Wasteful Expenditure Monitor, "almost all the items of wasteful expenditure tracked... have occurred during the Zuma administration's term in office". - Sapa

Zuma's kids fly high at taxpayers' expense

Did you know that President Jacob Zuma's 20 children were entitled to six domestic flights a year at the taxpayers' expense?

This is according to the ministerial handbook.

The presidency confirmed yesterday that even though there was an attempt to develop guidelines specifically for the presidency, they "currently rely on the ministerial handbook".

"Dependant children are each entitled to six single domestic economy class tickets per annum to reunite with their parents during the member's regular travel between Cape Town and Pretoria," the handbook said.

'We need to establish how much money is spent'

The dependant children "should make use of bus/shuttle services between airports and the place of residence if they are not accompanied by one or both of their parents".

A member's aide or SA Police Service driver may transport the children to and from the airport. However, only under special circumstances, government transport may be utilised to transport children from the airport to their home."

Based on a random Independent Newspapers calculation, based on the price of just the cheapest flights from and to Cape Town, Zuma's children's flight bill could come to almost R300,000 a year.

If all of them are on state medical aid, something his senior aide Zizi Kodwa is refusing to disclose, the taxpayers will have to foot that bill, too.

When the president retires the state pays the "full amount" for medical expenses for him, his wives and dependants.

It's still a conundrum as to who is entitled to the president's pension, Even though the children of South African presidents are not necessarily provided with bodyguards, the minister of police could - after a security assessment - instruct members of the presidential protection unit to provide security for all of them.

According to the handbook, the spouses of ministers and the president are "jointly entitled to 30 single domestic business class flight tickets per annum at the expense of the relevant department".

The DA on Sunday said it was also trying to determine how much was budgeted for the "spousal office" which takes care of the benefits and privileges of first ladies.

The presidency could not divulge the budget for the spousal office, which also looks after the deputy president's spouse, but a government official said it would "definitely" cost more to run the spousal unit, as Zuma had a bigger family than his predecessors.

DA leader Helen Zille said: "We need to establish how much money is spent and what it costs South Africa, because it is not clear in the (presidency's) budget."

In his medium-term Budget speech last year Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said the budget for the presidency, which supported the spousal office, was expected to increase from R325 million in 2009 to R333m this year.

A former presidential aide, who preferred to remain anonymous, said while the first ladies did not receive any allowances from the state, the spousal office took care of all their needs.

All of the three first ladies, Sizakele Khumalo, Nompumelelo Ntuli, and Thobeka Madiba, who Zuma married last month in Nkandla, have equal status, according to the Customary Marriages Act. Zuma is also engaged to Bongi Ngema.

It is not clear whether his girlfriend, Sonono Khoza, could be afforded the same status as Ngema.

The presidency has also kept mum on how many of the women in the president's life will attend the State of the Nation address next week.

According to the handbook for members of the executive, which recognises polygamous marriages, any of Zuma's wives and children can accompany him either on official business or holiday trips.

It is still a conundrum as to who is entitled to the president's pension.

According to recommendations of the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers, pension benefits payable to widows or widowers and dependants in the event of the president's death would be 50 percent of the pension benefit on his death.

Spokeswoman for the presidency, Matshepo Seedat, said they could not respond to questions about the spousal office as they needed more time to clarify details.

- Sunday Independent