Answers needed on Transport department's excessive credit card expenditure

Minister of Transport S'bu Ndebele must account for the more than R35 million racked up on an official department credit card since April last year. In a reply to a Democratic Alliance parliamentary question, Minister Ndebele has revealed that the card was issued to a company called Travkor EPA, ostensibly to pay for the department's travel and conferencing expenses.

Travkor has since run up expenditure of more than R2million per month, and on at least one occasion has exceeded the monthly credit limit of R5 million. This enormous credit card bill is suspicious to say the least. We need to get to the bottom of what is going on. It seems highly questionable that a department could spend so much on travel and conferencing. Therefore, I will today be submitting follow up questions to establish what exactly the R35 million has been spent on. We want an itemised list of every transaction.

A transparent and accountable public service requires a watertight framework for departmental spending on official credit cards. The public deserves a clear explanation of how government departments ensure that no irregular expenditure takes place.

The DA has submitted parliamentary questions on official credit cards to all departments and will closely monitor the responses. The responses to these questions will show where there are gaps in the mechanisms for accountability in the public service. We cannot allow for unwarranted and excessive public expenditure in a country where poverty is as deep and pervasive as it is in South Africa.

Statement issued by Geordin Hill-Lewis MP, DA Shadow Deputy Minister of Public Service and Administration, September 20 2011

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