Mashatile denies the misuse of state funds amid claims of extravagant international trips
JOHANNESBURG - Deputy President Paul Mashatile has denied the misuse of state funds amid claims of extravagant international trips.
Since taking up office almost a year ago, Mashatile's overseas trips have come up to close to R8 million rand.
The deputy president detailed some of the costs he incurred in response to a question by ActionSA's Chief Whip in Parliament Lerato Ngobeni.
According to responses from the deputy president's office Mashatile has taken a handful of international trips in 10 months, to Ireland, the UK, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Japan and the most recent one to France.
The Ireland and UK trip cost a combined R5 million rand, while R2 million rand was spent on the four days in Japan.
ActionSA said that it believes the spend on accommodation was alarmingly high.
The deputy president said that while the cost of international travel is generally very high, he says these costs must be seen in the context of their original currency in relation to the rand dollar exchange, as well as the going rate of travel expenses, including ground transport, accommodation and flights.
In his defence, Mashatile said that the international visits are aimed at strengthening existing bilateral, political, economic and diplomatic ties between South Africa and visited countries.
He said that the trips are an important part of the country's attempt to woo investors. In that sense, Mashatile believes the country is getting value for money.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
31 minutes ago
- IOL News
Mashatile promises land back to the people —without the banks taking it again
Deputy President Paul Mashatile has promised to return the land to the people and take it from the banks. Image: Bongiwe Mchunu / Independent Newspapers Deputy President Paul Mashatile delivered a firm commitment in Parliament: the new government will return the land to the people - and ensure they don't lose it again to banks. Answering questions in the National Assembly on Thursday, Mashatile said the government was determined to protect land reform beneficiaries from being trapped by commercial debt. 'Our role as a new government is to return the land to the people and do it in such a way that we protect them from the commercial banks,' he said. 'We don't want a situation where they lose land again because of loans.' The questions about land ownership were asked by the DA MP, Willie Aucamp and MK Party MP, Andile Mngxitama. Mashatile also explained that most land-related funding currently comes from state institutions like the Land Bank and other government financial entities. But he acknowledged that commercial finance still plays a role - one that must be tightly regulated to prevent exploitation. 'We must also tap into resources in commercial banks, but with state support so people are not exploited. We are doing exactly that, he said. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Addressing concerns over support for emerging farmers, Mashatile pointed to the estimated two million small-scale farmers already receiving government assistance. 'It's not enough to give land,' he said. 'You must support people to till that land. That's what we're doing with the Land Bank and other institutions.' One of the key challenges, Mashatile admitted, is the lack of title deeds - particularly among older farmers and those in rural areas. This limits access to credit, as commercial banks demand security. A programme is underway, he said, to issue title deeds to land reform beneficiaries. Earlier this year, President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Expropriation Act. The Act aims to allow the government to acquire private property for public purposes or in the public interest. But the government must tread carefully in traditional areas. 'Sometimes traditional leaders say they must hold the title for everyone,' Mashatile noted. 'We have to engage with them.' Collaboration between the Ministers of Agriculture and Land Reform, he added, is ongoing to resolve these complexities - and ensure land reform delivers real, lasting change IOL Politics
The Citizen
2 hours ago
- The Citizen
‘Luxury cloaked in secrecy' – Ntshavheni explains why she won't disclose her official travel expenses
ActionSA has accused Ntshavheni of evading public accountability by refusing to disclose her travel information. Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, says she will not compromise national security for political expediency by disclosing information not meant for the public. The minister was responding to ActionSA, which on Tuesday wrote to the Speaker of Parliament, Thoko Didiza, to demand urgent intervention and 'defend the integrity of Parliament's oversight role'. The party sent a parliamentary question to the minister, requesting a breakdown of all her official travel and that of her deputy ministers since they assumed office on 3 July 2024. ActionSA had requested an explanation of the purpose and justification for each trip, destination details, costs incurred, and the names of the accompanying staff. ALSO READ: MK party calls for 'immediate suspension' of Khumbudzo Ntshavheni In her response, the minister wrote: 'The reply to this question is forwarded to the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence.' However, this was not a satisfactory response, according to ActionSA. Ntshavheni 'brazenly evaded public accountability' The party released a statement chastising the minister for 'brazenly evading public accountability' with her response, which was sent 'four months late'. 'This is nothing more than a deliberate attempt to further shield her spending from scrutiny. This conduct cannot be allowed to stand, and the reply must be made public immediately,' said the party. 'Every minister in the government of national unity (GNU) was asked the same question on travel expenses. All others who responded did so in a transparent manner. Only the Minister in the Presidency has opted to hide, and we ask, 'why?'' ALSO READ: DA tells Ramaphosa to fire Ntshavheni: 'SA deserve better than growing list of crooks in your Cabinet' 'Is it because ActionSA recently exposed over R200 million in excessive GNU spending, including the Deputy President's outrageous R950 000 bill for four nights of accommodation in Japan and the R160 000 spent by the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture on a trip to Burkina Faso that never took place?' ActionSA accused the GNU of turning the public purse into a private travel slush fund, and the minister of disregarding the public's right to know how their taxes are spent. 'South Africans deserve leaders who serve with humility, not luxury cloaked in secrecy.' Briefing the media on the outcomes of the post-Cabinet meeting on Thursday, Ntshavheni said she does account for her actions, just not in the way ActionSA wants. ALSO READ: SSA employees over 50 years not being forced to take early retirement, says Ntshavheni The minister said her work on state security requires that some of her travel plans be kept confidential, as sharing them could compromise national security. 'Nothing wrong' Ntshavheni said the state security only discloses summits that the ministers are attending, not private meetings. 'It's just not the travel to say which country you have gone to, it's to say what meetings and all those other details. If you understand the nature of my work, you'll realise that 80% of my travel is for work related to state security. If we release it in public, it would compromise some of the initiatives we're working on,' said Ntshavheni. 'You'll recall when the Russia-Ukraine war started and the African leaders initiative led by Ramaphosa to go to Ukraine, it required some of us to take that type of preparatory work for that and if you disclose such details, you compromise the operations that you are running as a country and thus fail national security. ALSO READ: SSA corruption accused will be brought to book, MPs told as independent panel takes shape 'It is for that reason that the National Strategic Intelligence Act has provided the joint standing committee on intelligence for us to fully account for those things that cannot be fully shared in the public domain. 'There are meetings that we attend that we do not post at all, because what we have posted are summits, not meetings. There is nothing wrong because we are allowed by law to provide the committee, unless ActionSA wants to claim the committee has no capacity to hold us accountable. Those members were appointed by parliament and sworn in to hold us accountable. We will not sacrifice national security for political expediency.' READ NEXT: Ntshavheni says AfriForum admitted farm murder stats are accurate, Kriel accuses her of lying
IOL News
9 hours ago
- IOL News
South African ministers spend over R200 million on travel in a time of crisis
Deputy President Paul Mashatile's trip to Japan trip has sparked debate over the R900,000 accommodation costs which has drawn scrutiny amid rising concerns over government travel spending. "A DISTURBING pattern of unchecked luxury", is what ActionSA accused the ministers in the Government of National Unity for having spent over R200 million on travel since stepping into office a year ago. The party was reacting to supposed spurge of the government officials in question, having considered data provided by the party's GNU Performance Tracker, based on replies to parliamentary questions. The questions were posed to all ministers - including President Cyril Ramaphosa, Deputy President Paul Mashatile, and the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, who emerged as the big hitters. "This paints a damning picture of executive indulgence at a time of deep economic crisis,' ActionSA said in a statement, calling the trend 'a disturbing pattern of unchecked luxury and weak oversight.' At the centre of the controversy is Mashatile, whose office confirmed spending over R2 million on transport and accommodation for official duties. Four international trips undertaken on behalf of Ramaphosa have cost the state more than R7.9 million, including visits to Ireland, the UK, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Japan. One trip, a four-night visit to Tokyo in March 2025, drew particular criticism after it was revealed that accommodation alone cost more than R900,000 - approximately R225 000 a day. McKenzie and his department have spent around R6.6 million on international travel, including a R164,556 payment for a cancelled trip to Burkina Faso, raising questions about financial oversight. Amid ongoing public debate, IOL News compiled a detailed breakdown of luxury hotel costs in Tokyo. While the R900,000 figure raised eyebrows, analysis suggests such expenses are possible in one of the world's most expensive cities, especially when top-tier hotels and executive suites are involved. However, the costs have fuelled public concern over whether officials are appropriately balancing international representation with fiscal responsibility.
