'Payback time for Phumzile'
2006-01-24 16:46
Cape Town - Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka should lead by example and pay the full R700 000 back to the government for her recent holiday flight to the United Arab Emirates, says official opposition Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon.
Speaking to activists ahead of the March 1 local government poll in Sea Point on Tuesday, Leon said Mlambo-Ngcuka "is in danger of becoming a combination of South Africa's own Grace Mugabe and Marie Antoinette.
"Her extravagance symbolises the greed, selfishness and corruption of the (ruling) African National Congress (ANC) elite. And the worst part is that the ANC does not realise what is wrong with its behaviour. It has lost its moral compass. It has lost touch with the needs of the people.
"The ANC behaves as if public money is its own private bank account. It was bad enough that Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka's spent R700 000 of taxpayers' money on her "gravy plane" holiday."
He noted that presidential spokesperson Murphy Morobe had described the costs of the holiday as a drop in the ocean.
"Last week she was at it again, riding a 13-minute, R75 000 luxury flight to Sun City to open a golf tournament. She has failed to learn her lesson," said Leon.