Muthambi must explain R 600 000 junket to USA 

27 August 2015

A reply to a parliamentary question reveals that Communications Minister Faith Muthambi spent R 593 516.18 on a nine-day trip to a luxury goods show and folk art festival in America.

This seems an extraordinary waste of public money at a time when our Cabinet Ministers should be tightening their belts. I will be calling on the Minister to justify this trip at the next meeting of the Communications Portfolio Committee. 

Minister Muthambi visited the Atlanta Lifestyle Hub Show and the Santa Fe Folk Art Market on 8 July, spending nine days in the USA. Her bodyguard, as well as her Chief of Staff and an Assistant Director in her Department accompanied her.

Minister Muthambi’s decision to spend R600 000 of public money on a nine-day trip of this nature is certainly questionable. 

The South Africa Lifestyle Hub in Atlanta is a permanent showcase of high-end products for sale to the American market. According to the Lifestyle Hub website, “a unique array of furniture, home décor, and giftware all handcrafted from hide, beads, clay or fine linen” are on display. The Sante Fe Folk Art Market is an exhibition of folk art from around the world.

Both events have very little to do with the Minister’s mandate. Instead of attending international lifestyle and art shows on the taxpayer’s dime, Minister Muthambi should be focusing on the core business of her portfolio: to ensure that South Africans are informed of their rights and government services available to them

Minister Muthambi appears to have developed a taste for international travel in the short time she has been a member of the Cabinet. There is nothing wrong with Cabinet Ministers travelling abroad if the trips can be justified and do not distract them from their core mandate. 

We therefore call on Minister Muthambi to tell us exactly how this R600 000 trip to the USA benefited the South African public.

Text of the reply:

MINISTRY: COMMUNICATION

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NUMBER: 2855

DATE OF PUBLICATION:  07 August 2015

2855: Mr G R Davis (DA) to ask the Minister of Communications:

(a)   What was the purpose of her attendance at the annual Lifestyle Show Hub in Atlanta, Georgia, USA on 8 July 2015, (b) who attended the event with her and (c) what amount was spent by her department on (i) flights and (ii) accommodation for (aa) her and (bb) those who attended the show with her?   

REPLY: DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATIONS

(a)The Deputy Minister of Small Business Development has extended an invitation to Minister Muthambi F to attend both the Atlanta Lifestyle Hub Show and the Santa FE Folk Art Market events with other role-players to represent the country in these important gatherings.   

(b)South African delegation:

1. The Minister

2. Chief of Staff

3. Protector

4. Assistant Director in the office of the DG

(C)FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS FOR SUPPORT STAFF

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS FOR MINISTER

MR NN MUNZHELELE

DIRECTOR GENERAL ACTING

DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATIONS

DATE:

MS AF MUTHAMBI (MP)

MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS

DATE

ENDS

Statement issued by Gavin Davis MP, DA Shadow Minister of Communications, August 27 2015