Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula. Twitter@phalamafhungo
Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula. Twitter@phalamafhungo
Defence and military Veterans Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and her battle with accusation that her questionable travel decisions are tantamount to the “extortion” of taxpayers and the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) just won’t go away.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) have urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to launch an investigation into several chartered flights she commissioned and ultimately ask her to step away from her duties.
Kobus Marais, the DA’s Shadow Minister of Defence, said in a statement on Monday 26 April that Mapisa-Nqakula “wasted millions of taxpayers’ money on chartered flights and luxury accommodation” over the course of at least five trips to various countries around the world. A dossier of evidence has been submitted to the Joint Standing Committee on Defence.
“This is in addition to evidence that had been submitted to the committee on a previous occasion that alleged Minister Mapisa-Nqakula had ‘extorted’ more than R5 million from a South African National Defence Force (SANDF) service provider,” he further alleged.
According to a report by the Sunday Independent, the Minister allegedly spent the following funds on a host of trips since 2019:
This exorbitant spending warrants Mapisa-Nqkula’s dismissal, Marais said.
“How long will President Ramaphosa allow his close connection with Charles Nqakula, the husband of the Defence Minister and one of his senior advisors, to influence his dismissal of mounting evidence of malfeasance against her?”
Several issues surrounding the state of the SANDF – not least of which the highly publicised “jet scandal” she became embroiled in last year – have marred Mapisa-Nqakula’s tender as Minister, and the DA are convince that she is poorly suited for the role in charge of the country’s military.
“Minister Mapisa-Nqakula is clearly not suited for her post. Whether its corruption, incompetence or wilful ignorance, she has proven time and again that she cannot handle her duties as Minister, especially not in a Department as important as Defence,” he said.
“She is frivolous with a dwindling defence budget and cannot be trusted with the safety and security of the country.”