Dear Minister Mthethwa
I write to you regarding your reply to Parliamentary Question No. 20, published on 12 March 2009, in which you state that the President of the ANC, Mr Jacob Zuma, is receiving South African Police Service (SAPS) protection at a monthly cost of R998 815,89 to the South African taxpayer.
This appears to be an excessive level of spending on any one individual - and I would request that you provide a further breakdown of the Police Service's expenditure on Mr Zuma, and details of why this is deemed necessary, and what specific threats could warrant such extensive protection.
In order to dispel the notion that political favouritism has played a role in granting Mr Zuma such extensive security services, I would also kindly ask that you provide details of SAPS expenditure on protection services for other past and present government leaders - including former Deputy Presidents Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and F.W. de Klerk, former President Thabo Mbeki, and President Kgalema Motlanthe.
It is also particularly alarming to note from your reply to Parliamentary Question No. 50 that expenditure on the VIP Protection Service has increased considerably in recent years, even while other areas of the Police Service continue to suffer from severe backlogs and resource shortfalls. Expenditure on the VIP Protection Service has increased at the national level by 72 percent over the last five years, while there have been massive increases in spending on VIP services in provinces such as Mpumalanga (up 194 percent over five years), Limpopo (96 percent), North West (145 percent) and Free State (222 percent). These kind of spending increases clearly need justification.
I trust that you will heed to these requests. There is a growing perception that Mr Zuma is receiving preferential treatment, and the costs of his security services appear to be grossly excessive, and an unwarranted drain on the country's - and your department's - limited resources.
Yours sincerely,
Dianne Kohler Barnard
Spokesperson for Safety and Security
Democratic Alliance
Issued by the Democratic Alliance March 13 2009
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