'Probe Manto's R442 000 trip'

2007-08-26 14:21

Johannesburg - The ANC government is ruthlessly extracting every cent it can from the former deputy minister of health, Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, DA health spokesperson Mike Waters said Sunday.

"This was while Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang seemed perfectly happy to unnecessarily spend exorbitant amounts of public money on helicopters to travel around the Eastern Cape, visiting hospitals which seemed to be misleadingly patched up the day before she arrived", the party said.

The DA said it would be asking parliamentary questions about the process that was followed to obtain approval for Tshabalala-Msimang's use of four twin-engine helicopters at a total cost of approximately R442 000 for her publicity-seeking trip around Eastern Cape hospitals last week.

"In what can only be described as an abuse of state resources, the minister ordered the hire of four twin-engine helicopters for her tour.

"Three were flown in from Johannesburg and one from Cape Town.

"At a cost of R17 000 an hour, for 26 hours of flying time per helicopter, the grand total is a staggering R442 000.

"There could be no justification for this extravagance, given that Tshabalala-Msimang herself has said that limited resources were available for improvements to Frere Hospital and other public facilities.

"President (Thabo) Mbeki, having now suddenly made a decision to tighten regulations and restrictions on the extent to which members of the executive use public money to travel, seems to only be interested in implementing those restrictions with regard to the former deputy minister of health, remaining perfectly happy to overlook extravagance by other members of the executive, including the minister of health herself," said Waters.

"Other things the government had been happy to finance included the deputy president's trip to the UAE, supposedly to investigate cranes at a cost of R600 000."

Madlala-Routledge 'broke' The Sunday Times reported that a government assault on the finances of Madlala-Routledge had left her broke.

She has been forced to accept money from her elderly mother after her salary was docked to reclaim the cost of her controversial trip to Spain.

Now, as the screws were being tightened on her finances, Madlala-Routledge on Friday received a third letter of demand, this time from the Department of Public Works.

"The department suddenly wants her to pay R26 700 that she has owed on rent for her ministerial houses since 2001, an estimated R371 a month."

Madlala-Routledge was fired by Mbeki after she travelled to Spain for an Aids vaccine conference, a trip that he had not authorised.

Within days of her firing, the government swung into action, demanding money.

The Department of Health wanted R312 000 for the trip to Spain.

Various politicians and organisations told the Sunday Times they believed she was being victimised.

DA leader Helen Zille said there was an obvious vendetta against Madlala-Routledge and described the bills as selective debt collecting.

- SAPA