President Jacob Zuma's office wants to clip the wings of his globe-trotting predecessor Thabo Mbeki, complaining that his travels to war-torn Sudan are expensive and "unsustainable".
Mbeki's travels cost taxpayers R20.5-million in the 18 months between April 2009 and October last year. This includes 11 chartered flights . The figure excludes Mbeki's trips so far this year.
Mbeki was appointed by the African Union in 2009 to head a High Level Implementation Panel which oversaw Sudan's general elections last year and the recent referendum to decide the future of southern Sudan.
Mbeki received international praise for his role in ensuring a peaceful referendum last month, but Zuma failed to acknowledge this role during his State of the Nation address last week. He only did so - following public criticism of the snub - in his reply to the parliamentary debate this week . The snub was interpreted as a sign of the continuing tensions between the two leaders.
It has now emerged that there is unease in the Presidency about Mbeki's AU missions in countries such as Sudan and the Ivory Coast.
In an internal Presidency memo, which has been seen by the Sunday Times, director-general Dr Cassius Lubisi complains about the costs of transporting Mbeki and suggests the AU should fund such missions.
"I will seek clarity on the responsibility of the AU in the funding of missions involving South African leaders. The current arrangement is not sustainable and will require some changes," Lubisi writes in a memo dated December 21 2010.
A Presidency official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Sunday Times there were concerns about the escalating costs of Mbeki's trips which, the official said, rivalled those of Zuma's travels.
Indications are that the government will limit Mbeki's travel, with the Department of International Relations saying that the former president's mission in Sudan had been completed.
This was disputed by Mbeki sympathisers, who argued that there were still matters for him to settle, and pointed to a 2009 communiqué by the AU Peace and Security Council which wanted his mandate extended beyond the referendum.
Late last year, the AU assigned Mbeki to Ivory Coast following the political crisis caused by President Laurent Gbagbo's refusal to step down after he was said to have lost a disputed presidential election.
But Mbeki has been left out of the recently appointed AU panel to resolve the standoff. Zuma is a member of the panel, which is meeting in Mauritania and will head for Ivory Coast this week.
Ministry of Defence officials told the Sunday Times that Mbeki regularly used chartered flights for his trips to Sudan because of the size of his entourage, which could included as many as 15 people - sometimes beyond the capabilities of the air force's airplanes, said spokesman Ndivhuwo Mabaya.
Although the Department of Defence has consistently refused to divulge Zuma's travel costs, it recently gave MP David Mayner a breakdown of the cost of Mbeki's trips.
In response to a parliamentary question submitted by the DA representative, the department revealed that Mbeki's flights cost R3.6-million in 2009 and close to R17-million last year.
Presidency spokesman Zizi Kodwa referred questions to the departments of International Relations and of Defence. He would not comment on director-general Lubisi's views, saying he was not aware of them.
International Relations spokesman Clayson Monyela said the bulk of Mbeki's work in Sudan had been completed as it related to the referendum.
"There may be a few outstanding matters like the ... issue of the oil and citizenship. At the time when the North and the South deliberate on these matters he may be called in," said Monyela.
The Minister of International Relations, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, was in charge of the post-conflict resolution committee, he said.
Mbeki's spokesman, Mukoni Ratshitanga, would not be drawn on the matter, saying that he was not aware of the issue.
- Timeslive
