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Defense Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.
- President Cyril Ramaphosa has sanctioned Defense Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula for taking an ANC delegation to Zimbabwe on an air force plane.
- Ramaphosa said that his salary for the next three months would be paid to the Solidarity Fund.
- He said it was a “mistake in judgment” for the ANC delegation to be flown on an air force plane.
President Cyril Ramaphosa broke the whip, berating and taking away Defense Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s three-month salary on the ANC’s trip to Harare on an air force plane earlier this month.
In a statement late Saturday, the presidency said that starting in November, Mapisa-Nqakula’s salary for the next three months would be paid to the Solidarity Fund.
“The president has also sanctioned the minister by imposing a salary sacrifice on the minister’s salary for three months, starting on November 1, 2020. Her salary for the three months must be paid into the Solidarity Fund, which was established to support the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, “the statement said.
Ramaphosa went a step further, indicating why he has cracked down on the minister for her “error of judgment.”
“He (Ramaphosa) discovered that the Minister did not ‘act … in the best interest of good governance’ as required by the Code of Executive Members, he did not comply with the legal prescriptions that justified care in the use of state resources ( y) acted ‘in a way that is inconsistent with [her] position ‘as required by the Code, “the statement said.
An ANC delegation led by the party’s general secretary, Ace Magashule, flew to Zimbabwe with the South African National Defense Force (SANDF) dime, to meet with the ruling ZanuPF.
SANDF defended this trip saying that Mapisa-Nqakula traveled on official duty and brought the ANC delegation. The ANC first denied that there was an abuse of state resources, but after Ramaphosa intervened and requested a report from the minister within 48 hours, the party agreed to reimburse the cost of the fight.
“The president also ordered the minister to ensure that the ANC reimburses the state for the costs of the flight to Harare and to inform it once it has been done,” the presidency said in its statement.
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Ramaphosa’s office said it considered two reports from Mapisa-Nqakula on the matter and found it to be “an error in judgment to use the plane to broadcast a political party delegation.”
“The president said that this error in judgment does not correspond to the responsibilities of a cabinet minister.”
Ramaphosa wrote to Mapisa-Nqakula reprimanding her saying that while he appreciated that the ANC had promised to return the cost of the flight, it was still an error of judgment that was taken seriously.
In his letter of reprimand to the minister, President Ramaphosa said he appreciated the ANC’s commitment to reimburse spent state resources in excess of what the minister would have incurred for her approved trip to meet with her Zimbabwean counterpart. However, the sanction imposed on the minister demonstrated the seriousness with which the president perceived the minister’s error in judgment, given her high position in the government. ”
The controversial flight is subject to two complaints before the public protector.
Meanwhile, the Prosecutor’s Office has estimated that the ANC would have to pay around R260,000 for the flight with the delegation that includes Magashule, Mapisa-Nqakula, the Minister of Social Development Lindiwe Zulu, Nomvula Mokonyane, Enoch Godongwana, Tony Yengeni and Dakota Legoete.
