True cost of SONA: “Parliament” spokesperson must retract misleading statement
27 February 2017
Newly appointed spokesperson for Parliament, Moloto Mothapo, must immediately retract the statement he issued on 26 February in which he seeks to deliberately mislead the public over the R11 million and counting spent on the 2017 State of the Nation (SONA) address.
On Sunday I revealed how the expenditure on SONA, by Parliament and a host of government departments, now amounted to at least R11 million. This included R4.085 million spent by the Department of Police, R2.7 million spent by the Department of Public Works, and R204 153 spent by the Department of Defence. This expenditure, incurred in addition to the R4 million spent by Parliament itself, was detailed by the Executive in letters and replies to written questions.
At no time was it claimed that Parliament, as an institution, had spent R11 million. Mothapo’s hapless attempt to deflect attention from the real cost of SONA is both disingenuous and a flagrant abuse of his role as spokesperson for Parliament.
This attack on the DA clearly shows Mothapo’s unsuitability to act as spokesperson for the legislature and, following his totally inappropriate announcement of Brian Molefe’s deployment to Parliament on 17 February, shows that he is intent on continuing in his role as an ANC spin doctor.