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Over the past five years, Parliament has spent just more than R32 million on travel privileges for former ministers, deputy ministers and their spouses.
These costs, which are provided for in the “travel privileges for former national members and their spouses” section of the ministerial handbook, have steadily grown from the financial year 2014/15 to 2018/19.
In response to questions from City Press, Parliament indicated that the tab for the domestic travel of former members over the past five years came to R32 868 915.35.
In the 2014/15, 2015/16 and 2016/17 tax years, the bill was about R5.7 million, R5.7 million and R5.5 million, respectively. In the 2017/18 tax year, it passed the R5 million mark, coming in at R6.5 million. In this financial year, it shot up to R9.2 million.
The new ministerial handbook, which came into effect on June 8, made no changes to this parliamentary scheme and reads exactly as the previous handbook did.
This means that former ministers are entitled to 48 single domestic tickets per year in business class and their spouses are entitled to 24.
Former deputy ministers are entitled to 36 single domestic tickets per year in business class and their spouses are entitled to 18.
Widows and widowers of former ministers and deputy ministers are entitled to 12 single domestic flights in business class per year.
Areas where significant changes have been made to the handbook are increased staff complements and security upgrades at the residences of members of the executive.
Previously, ministers and premiers could have a staff complement of 10 in their private offices.
Deputy ministers and MECs could have a staff complement of six.
In the new handbook, ministers are entitled to a staff complement of 15, deputy ministers to 11, premiers to 13 and MECs to 13.
On security measures at the private residences of public office bearers, the handbook previously read: “The minister of public works may approve a state contribution of a non-recoverable maximum amount of R100 000, or the total cost of security measures not exceeding R100 000.
"Should the cost of the security measures be more than R100 000, the difference shall be borne by the public office bearer. The state’s contribution of R100 000 should be reviewed every five years to match the changing costs of security systems.”
The new handbook reads: “The state’s contribution shall be R250 000, which amount shall be adjusted annually by the minister responsible for public works, in consultation with the ministers responsible for finance and police, on July 1 of each year based on the inflation rate as at April of that year.”
In an interview with City Press earlier this month, new Public Service and Administration Minister Senzo Mchunu emphasised the need for the handbook to be taken seriously: “We should migrate from referring to this as a guide and call it a rule so that there is strict compliance.”
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