Public pay for chief whip’s love jaunts

office after he appointed her as one of two researchers.

“Everyone is aware that bookings have been made for Mr Mrara’s daughter and partner since 2009. That is no secret,” the source said.

Documents show that mother and daughter were supposed to check in at the up-market Cape Town hotel on December 9 and check out on December 14. The bill for their stay came to R10 208.66. They did not arrive as scheduled because they missed their flight from Port Elizabeth. As a result Mrara wrote an urgent letter on the same day (December 9) to the finance section of the ANC’s constituency office in Bhisho: “Kindly take note than two dependents of the Chief Whip has [sic] missed a flight travelling from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town on December 9, 2014 and their ticket was pre-arranged. Your office therefore is requested to arrange a single ticket for them as (the travel agency) is disconnected and cannot assist them on their predicament.”

Documents in possession of the Dispatch confirm that on December 10, all three were booked on to a flight from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town and that the travel agency billed the ANC’s constituency fund R7 418.37 for the trip.

The woman began working in Mrara’s office last Monday, and one well-placed legislature source said the staff were were surprised to see her being hired.

Documents obtained by the Dispatch show that mother and daughter appear in Mrara’s official list of dependents who benefit from an air travelling allowance. In a form he submitted on September 5 2013, Mrara listed the child as his daughter. Though sharing the same surname as the child, Mrara listed the mother of the child as a friend.

This week, Mrara confirmed to the Dispatch that the woman had been hired as a researcher at his office. He did not see the appointment as nepotism, saying he was “confident in the process (of recruitment) we undertook. There was no dispute on their appointment”.

Mrara could not be reached to respond to allegations that he misused his travel allowance and taxpayers’ money to book holidays for the woman.

ANC provincial secretary Oscar Mabuyane could only confirm that the party’s caucus did hire new researchers, and that the party believed that “everything was done above board”.

On the misuse of constituency funds, Mabuyane said: “Obviously that will be very wrong. It’s just that we don’t have facts at hand … It will be very unfortunate for something like that to happen. We will have to look into it.”

The legislature had not responded to questions from the Dispatch and the South African Communist Party refused to comment.