ActionSA has criticised what it describes as excessive travel expenditure by Cabinet Ministers serving in the Government of National Unity (GNU), citing findings from its GNU Performance Tracker, an index established to monitor the coalition government since it assumed office.
According to the report, GNU Ministers have spent close to R450 million on travel and accommodation over the past 18 months.
ActionSA highlighted several examples, including the office of Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau, which spent R2.12 million on a three-night trip to New York in September 2024, followed by R1.5 million for a week-long visit to Washington DC in July 2024.
Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi was also cited, with his office reportedly incurring R2.75 million for a seven-night visit to New York in September last year, R1.33 million for a two-day trip to Brazil, and R1.18 million on international air tickets alone since assuming office.
In addition, the Office of the Minister for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Sindisiwe Chikunga, is said to have spent nearly R5 million on international air tickets since assuming office.
ActionSA described the spending patterns as indicative of an “alarming culture of executive indulgence”.
The party said the trend extended beyond Cabinet Ministers, with Deputy Ministers also implicated. Deputy Minister Zuko Godlimpi reportedly spent more than R650,000 on local car rentals during his first eight months in office, while his since-dismissed colleague Andrew Whitfield spent R530,000, according to the report.
ActionSA has renewed its call for the complete scrapping of Deputy Minister positions, arguing that the government can no longer afford them.
The party has committed to continuing to expose what it terms poor financial management and to pressure the GNU to curb spending, warning that public funds are being wasted while many South Africans continue to live in desperate conditions.
