Mapisa-Nqakula’s trip to Zimbabwe was ‘urgent’, Ramaphosa tells NCOP

President Cyril Ramaphosa.

• President Ramaphosa granted the defense minister permission to fly to Zimbabwe on the same day he left because their meeting was “urgent”.
• The ministerial manual requires that permission be requested two weeks before departure and does not provide an exception to urgency.
• NCOP district attorney whip Cathlene Labuschagne accused Ramaphosa of a “last minute cover-up.”

President Cyril Ramaphosa admitted to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) that the ministerial manual is often scoffed at when it approves requests from ministers to travel abroad on “urgent” matters.

Ramaphosa answered questions at the NCOP on Tuesday.

DA whip at the NCOP, Cathlene Labuschagne, asked the president about his approval for Defense Minister and Military Veterans Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s trip to Zimbabwe last month.

The Defense Minister transported civilians, all of them ANC officials (Ace Magashule, Tony Yengeni, Nomvula Mokonyane, Enoch Godongwana and Dakota Lekgoete) to Harare aboard a South African air force plane.

In his original question, Labuschagne asked when Ramaphosa was first informed of the flight, why he approved it, and if he was informed that a delegation from a certain political party was included in the flight at the time of approval.

“Ladies and gentlemen, as you may know, I ordered that documentation, including correspondence and reports, related to the visit to Zimbabwe by the Minister of Defense and Military Veterans, Ms. Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, be made public,” Ramaphosa said.

Therefore, as I publicly stated, I received a written travel request from Minister Mapisa-Nqakula, dated September 7, 2020.

“The minister requested permission to travel to Zimbabwe from 8 to 10 September 2020 to hold a bilateral meeting with her counterpart from Zimbabwe. This is the normal request that I receive as I have to give the ministers permission to leave the country.

“As I was not in Gauteng at the time, the minister submitted her travel request, gave the minister verbal approval of the trip on September 8, 2020, and signed the relevant documentation upon my return to Gauteng. This happens often, when ministers can to obtain permission verbally.

On September 10, the presidency sent the minister a written confirmation that the president had approved his trip.

“The minister traveled on a South African Air Force plane, which also carried senior leaders of the African National Congress. Since then, I have given the minister a formal reprimand for taking the ANC delegation to Zimbabwe on an Air Force plane. South African.

READ ALSO | Zim’s controversial trip was not for pleasure, Mapisa-Nqakula tells Parliament

“I took this action after considering the minister’s initial report and a supplemental report that he had instructed the minister to provide on the circumstances that led the ANC delegation to travel on a South African Air Force plane.

“While the minister was on an official trip, for which I had given permission and for which she had the right to use an air force plane, I found that it was an error of judgment on her part to use the plane to broadcast a game political delegation.

“I ordered the minister to make sure that the ANC reimburses the state for the costs of the flight to Harare and I understand that it has already been done,” Ramaphosa said.

Labuschagne then noted that the ministerial manual requires ministers to seek presidential approval for a trip out of the country at least two weeks before their departure, which Ramaphosa himself admitted was not done.

After News24 reported that Ramaphosa approved Mapisa-Nqakula’s trip the day after his return, the presidency issued a statement saying that Ramaphosa gave his verbal approval on September 8.

Labuschagne said the written approval only came after public outrage over the trip, and the verbal approval appears to be a “last-minute cover-up attempt.”

“Why did you lie to the South African public?” she asked.

ANC whip Seth Mohai raised a point of order and was asked by NCOP President Amos Masondo to stand down, which he did.

He then asked why he was not providing all the facts and asked him to provide the reasons for approval of the trip.

Ramaphosa said the reason for the trip was that Mapisa-Nqakula held bilateral talks with his Zimbabwean counterpart on security issues in the region. He said the meeting was urgent.

He said the ministerial manual takes two weeks, “but it has often happened that things happen urgently.”

He said some trips are planned far in advance, others on short notice.

“So we say that all members of the cabinet do not leave South Africa without asking permission from the president,” he said.

Nowhere does the ministerial manual have an exception to the two-week rule, based on urgency or for any other reason.

FF Plus MP Armand Cloete noted that the trip took place while there were strict blocking regulations against international travel. He asked if these rules were violated and what action would be taken if they were.

Ramaphosa said there are “some ongoing processes”, including an investigation by the Public Protector, which he believes will provide answers to these questions.