The ANC will reimburse the government for costs incurred by a party delegation for a trip to Zimbabwe to meet with Zanu-PF leaders, ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule said.
In a statement on Tuesday, Magashule said: “We travelled in an unusual manner and profusely humble ourselves where we went wrong during the lockdown and will reimburse the government for the costs incurred on behalf of our delegation. Our delegation is under quarantine in line with our lockdown regulations.”
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This comes after the DA and the EFF criticised the party for using an airforce jet for the trip and called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to explain.
Ramaphosa also wrote to Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula on Friday and demanded a response within 48 hours.
“In the interest of good governance and the prudent and ethical use of state assets, the president has directed the minister to provide a report within 48 hours that will set out the circumstances around the flight and the passenger list,” the presidency said in a statement on Friday evening.
Ramaphosa said that Mapisa-Nqakula had permission to travel to Zimbabwe to meet her counterpart to discuss defence-related matters.
He also noted the public backlash, saying it is a sign of the nation’s vigilance against allegations of abuse of public resources.
In an interview with News24 last week, NEC member Dakota Legoete who was part of the delegation, said the use of a SA air force jet was “not a mistake”.
“How can it be a mistake when between five to seven million people are about to face starvation? How can it be a mistake when about over 4 million people have crossed the border, they are in our shores?
“How can it be a mistake when we are likely to face an outrage of xenophobic attacks on Zimbabweans because they are tussling for manual labour with South Africans?” Legoete said.
He added that the ANC delegation “took a lift a on a plane because we had a burden of responsibility as South Africa because there is Covid-19 and no commercial or international flights are available”.
Legoete said the Minister of Social Development, Lindiwe Zulu, and the Minister of Defence, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, were meeting with their counterparts in Zimbabwe on challenges faced by the two countries.
“For inaction, the ANC is going to be blamed. For action, the ANC will be equally blamed. People forget we are African, with African value systems,” he said.
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