State reviews the gravy train for partners

The days of spousal freebies at the expense of taxpayers will soon be gone as the cashstrapped government moves to curb unfruitful expenditure.

In a move likely to irk senior government officials and members of the executive, the state is considering withdrawing the spousal accompanying benefit when they fly out of SA on duty.

Members of the executive are allowed to take their spouses and/or adult family members with them on international trips.

This issue came to the fore last year when Norma Gigaba accompanied her husband, then finance minister Malusi Gigaba, on an international road show to the US where she enjoyed a daily allowance of R15,942.15. There were also trips to Asia and the UK. Taxpayers spent R873,366.68 on international travel for Norma Gigaba from April 1 2017. This included business class flights and accommodation in luxurious hotels such as the Ritz Carlton and the Grand Hyatt in the US.

The revenue shortfall has ballooned to R50bn in the current financial year.

DA finance spokesman David Maynier said it was “staggering” that the minister blew this amount “on what were in reality a series of intercontinental shopping trips for his wife”. Her allowance was public money she could “burn”.

“What made it worse is that Norma Gigaba flaunted her international travel in a stream of selfies and pictures on Instagram posing on the high streets and shopping malls of the financial capitals of the world,” Maynier said.

Gigaba justified taking his wife with him on the grounds that it gave him the opportunity to be with her in what was a stressful job.

There was also the controversial case of Western Cape premier Helen Zille taking her husband, Johann Maree, on a trip to Singapore and Japan early in 2017, which cost the taxpayer over R636,159 for five people, or about R127,000 per person.

Former communications minister Faith Muthambi was said to have flown her relatives to Cape Town to attend her budget vote.

Muthambi’s predecessor, Dina Pule, fell on her sword after taking her boyfriend on shopping sprees in various cities including Paris, Prague, Mexico City and Kuala Lumpur between June and July 2011.

She boarded expensive flights and stayed in five-star hotels in at least five European, North and South American cities within a month with her boyfriend, Phosane Mngqibisa — all funded by public money. In the US, for example, they slept, dined and wined together at the five-star Ritz Carlton hotel in New York City.

Director-general of the Presidency and secretary of the Cabinet Cassius Lubisi said in a letter sent to the DA’s Maynier that a review of the policy was under way.