Who is footing the bill for Deputy President Mabuza’s latest trip to Russia?

28 June 2021

The DA calls on the Presidency to provide details around the Deputy President’s latest trip to Russia. The Presidency has confirmed that Deputy President David Mabuza has requested leave to travel to Russia for a medical consultation.

We urge the government to clarify the details of this trip, specifically who is footing the bill.

It is highly peculiar that Deputy President Mabuza would travel all the way to Russia to seek medical assistance when he can receive world class medical treatment in South Africa.

It is a shame and a slap in the face of our medical practitioners and medical facilities that their own Deputy President would rather seek medical treatment abroad than in South Africa.

The trend of health tourism among the political elite, where our leaders seek medical attention in other countries is a concerning and costly undertaking. The Deputy President previously received medical treatment in Russia at least twice before in 2015 and 2018. This will, as we have seen previously, come at a huge cost to South African taxpayers.

The Deputy President must come clean with South Africans and give us the real reason for his mysterious trips to Russia. Is this trip really for medical reasons or is it a sneaky way to mend a relationship with the Russian President after the failed nuclear deal?

We trust that the Deputy President will return to health speedily and that he will soon find the strength to return to his duties of overseeing the country’s vaccine rollout - a job which he has performed dismally.

Statement issued by Willem Faber MP - DA Member of the Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation, 28 June 2021