Minister needs to explain personal use of state credit card

A reply from the Presidency on a generic question posed to all government departments on whether any of their public office bearers have been issued official government credit cards has revealed that Minister in the Presidency for Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation, Collins Chabane used an official government credit card that was issued to him for his own personal expenses. The parliamentary reply states that the minister's card was over the limit "due to extra payments made in his personal capacity of which arrangements have been made for repayment."

This is problematic for several reasons.

Firstly, Section 4 of Annexure G of the Ministerial Handbook states that:

"The corporate credit card scheme allows Political Office Bearers and Directors-General to be issued with corporate credit cards for purposes of official transport, accommodation and subsistence, in their own name, and for which they will be personally liable."

In other words, while the Ministerial Handbook outlaws the use of state-issued credit cards for personal purposes, the minister in the presidency appears to have put it to precisely this use.

Secondly, section 8 of Annexure G states that:

"No additional corporate credit cards need to be issued to Political Office Bearers or Directors-General, where they already have a personal credit card, as efficient processes for claims and pre-funding arrangements obviate the need for such credit arrangements."

The same section makes it clear that only in exceptional circumstances, such as where urgent funding for official purposes is required, can this particular provision be violated. Since this was clearly, according to the reply, personal expenditure, and since it is quite possible to assume that Minister Chabane does have a personal credit card, questions need to be asked on why this credit card was issued to him in the first place.

Thirdly, section 1(b) of Annexure G states the following:

"Where necessary a corporate credit card may be obtained in the name of the individual only with the authorisation of the Director-General or relevant Accounting Officer. This should be done concurrently with clear instructions regarding limits, servicing costs of cards, restrictions in respect of items for which the state will not be liable, and internal processes and control mechanisms to ensure the appropriate and prudent usage of the cards."

The presidency's reply provides no information on what limits and restrictions on items were set when the credit card was issued to Chabane and also what control mechanisms have been put in place to prevent inappropriate expenditure. The DA will therefore be posing questions in this regard.

Lastly, Annexure G of the Ministerial Handbook also refers to the fact that the issuing of official credit cards runs the risk of being misused. It states:

"Departments must ensure the timeous repayment of the debt by the corporate credit card holder and should not carry any financial burden, especially where there are pre-funding arrangements. Imprudence in the conduct of financial affairs whether personal or Departmental poses a significant reputational risk for the Political Office Bearer and the Director-General and the Department concerned and consequently must be guarded against."

Yet this imprudence is precisely what has occurred here.

The fact that the minister in charge of performance, monitoring and evaluation is misusing an official credit card, is extremely concerning and raises the question on how Minister Chabane will be able perform his performance monitoring duties if he himself clearly needs to be monitored. If minister Chabane's private expenditure with a government credit card is not dealt with immediately, this current situation could easily balloon into one similar to that of the mayor of Buffalo City Zukiswa Faku. The therefore DA believes it is imperative that the presidency, by taking action against Minister Chabane, would show that the frivolous expenditure of state money will not be tolerated.

The DA decided to pose this question to all government departments due to the ANC executive's well documented penchant for spending public money on their own personal indulgences. It is evident from this expenditure that the executive having access to government credit cards is a recipe for disaster and the Presidency's reply clearly demonstrates this. The DA will therefore be posing follow-up questions to the presidency asking what the reasons were for issuing this credit card, a breakdown of the personal items that were bought as well as what action will be taken against Chabane in this regard, including whether he will be forced to return this credit card. We will also establish:

• What authorisation process was followed when issuing the credit card;
• What the reasons were for issuing minister Chabane with a credit card;
• What item restrictions and limits were set when the credit card was issued;
• What control mechanisms are in place to prevent inappropriate expenditure;
• What action will or has been taken against the minister in light of his personal expenditure on his official credit card;
• Whether the presidency will require Chabane to return his credit card.

Statement issued by Athol Trollip, MP, Democratic Alliance parliamentary leader, November 23 2009

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