DRM blows R1.92 million on international travel in four months.

By Lehlohonolo Lehana.

The Ministry of Minerals and Petroleum Resources (DRM) has spent a staggering R1.92 million on international travel in just four months.

This was revealed in a written reply to ActionSA Member of Parliament Alan Beesley by Minister Gwede Mantashe.

In one instance, a single trip for Mantashe cost the taxpayers more than R170,000 for a single trip to Perth, Australia. In September, the minister spent R135,000 on accommodation for two nights and flights for support staff to the minister to China costing over R274,000 per person.

In a statement Beesley said, these figures raise critical questions about the ongoing culture of extravagance within the grand coalition government.

“As a country, we are facing huge fiscal constraints. On top of this, a vast portion of our population is facing daily hardships caused by extreme poverty, and as such the lavish lifestyle of the cabinet Ministers and their staff is totally unacceptable. Once again we see politicians putting themselves before the people they serve.” “He added that, his party maintains that transparency in government spending is essential to restore public trust.This response is part of our broader effort to hold officials accountable and shed light on excessive and wasteful expenditure.”

Meanwhile Mantashe continued to rally against what he calls the “crusade” against oil and gas development, promises it will boost the country’s economic growth to 8%.

His department has struggled to tackle illegal mining effectively, and has not implemented the artisanal and small-scale mining policy.

And, with a backlog of 3 000 mining rights, Mantashe has promised that the new, long-delayed mineral licensing system — the cadastral system — will be operational by next year.

Scroll to Top