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NO NONSENSE: Chairman of Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts Themba Godi Photo: Veli Nhlapo

Appearing before Scopa the directors of governance and administration in the national treasury, Matshepo Maidi and George Tembo, were yesterday at pains to explain to MPs why they had recommended that Parliament approve the Presidency's unauthorised expenditure.

They could only argue that unauthorised expenditure had been incurred under "unavoidable circumstances", but MPs simply refused to budge.

The Treasury wants the Presidency's budget for this financial year - 2012-13 - to be reduced by R28-million to pay for the unauthorised spending of 2010-11.

When asked for a detailed breakdown, Maidi said the R28-million was spent on the procurement of goods and services such as legal fees at R11.4-million, communications services at R7.5-million, additional staff at almost R1-million and advertising over R500,000.

Maidi also argued that some of the money had been used to finance the unavoidable and frequent overseas travel of Presidency staff.

But Scopa chairman Themba Godi was having none of it and remained adamant that the expenditure could have been avoided with proper planning.

He said the committee would finalise its position on the matter once it has been furnished with further particulars.

"I think we are making heavy weather of what was supposed to be a very simple process, because from your breakdown can we say all those items were unavoidable?" he said.

Maidi responded: "Chair, not all of them are unavoidable."

DA MP Dion George also weighed in, saying there was no "presidency in the world that had a bottomless pit of money".

"The president is very busy, obviously, but we do know that he travels and that the department has an idea of what he has to do during the year, so it could possibly sharpen its pencil and be more accurate in its budgeting," he said.

Also in the firing line, was the Department of Women, Children, and People with Disabilities, which is also located within the Presidency.

The department incurred an unauthorised expenditure of almost R4-million in 2010-11, after undertaking "mandatory overseas trips" including one when minister Lulu Xingwana led a 49-member delegation to a UN gender summit in New York where they stayed at the five star Ritz-Carlton hotel.

Treasury is also asking Scopa to condone the expenditure.

Comments

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Sat May 25 15:02:20 SAST 2013 ::

Jun 14, 2012

truthhurt

Its about damn time!
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Jun 14, 2012

CheeseBoy

how can the president not over spend when he has a bloated family and useless entities like the Ministry of women children and people with disabilities. its crazy.


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some of the money had been used to finance the unavoidable and frequent overseas travel of Presidency staff.

- and a lot of people where making noise about how Mbeki spent a lot of time on over seas trips. stupid double standards as I see it looks like the Zuma team is even worse.

please remind me what zuma has done for this country ever since he was president again? I thought so. NOTHING!

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Jun 14, 2012

mambaaai

From the article.........."Also in the firing line, was the Department of Women, Children, and People with Disabilities, which is also located within the Presidency." We STILL have some of the highest rape statisics in the world, and recently a whole lot of people were simply released from prison....any money spent to help these people is also just undone one step forward one step back...

circular steps, like with the recent cabinet reshuffle says they were not being effective in their posts and all these people have to now get up to speed in their new posts and spend these types of moneys again. The cultrue in the ANC at the moment is dog eat dog so we can be sure that the out going minister is not going to help his or her new replacement
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Jun 14, 2012

SeshegoGuY

His huge Family is Costing us--- Im not really surprised
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Jun 14, 2012

RobinH

Oh come now, Surely it has been obvious for AGES that the presidency is far too lavish with it's spending. This "grilling" is long overdue and most likely just cosmetic.
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Jun 14, 2012

LBS

>>Also in the firing line, was the Department of Women, Children, and People with Disabilities, which is also located within the Presidency.

The department incurred an unauthorised expenditure of almost R4-million in 2010-11, after undertaking "mandatory overseas trips" including one when minister Lulu Xingwana led a 49-member delegation to a UN gender summit in New York where they stayed at the five star Ritz-Carlton hotel.<<

What a lovely paid-for-by-the-taxpayer holiday this was!
Does anyone know what benefits our country had from this?
Nothing? Thought so!!

>>Scopa chairman Themba Godi was having none of it and remained adamant that the expenditure could have been avoided with proper planning.<<

This man is one of the exceptional people in government - pity there are no more like him - then the country would thrive and grow!
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Jun 14, 2012

RobinH

LBS. Agreed.
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Jun 14, 2012

Commrade

Good morning Comrades, Viva ANC Youth League Viva...as much as we protective of our ANC truth needs to be unfolded our Presidency its oporating out of its own interest not those of people leaving in this Country. we paying alot of money in TAX so that they would enjoy going up and down, now it's going to be e-tall where @ amonth one would be paying around R1500.00 including local tall gates nt to mention the Petrol.
then our Government is doing nothing about that but travelling all over the SHOW...... but if it was another members of any other organization"Party" an enquiry was going to be luanch and some body was going to be dismissed. well anyway it's ANC!!!
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Jun 14, 2012

BaleliM

The closer we get to Mangaung, the more of these stories come out to make it seem like this damn ANC is doing something.
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Jun 14, 2012

MsKinkyakaKamaSutra

When asked for a detailed breakdown, Maidi said the R28-million was spent on the procurement of goods and services such as legal fees at R11.4-million, communications services at R7.5-million, additional staff at almost R1-million and advertising over R500,000.

Maidi also argued that some of the money had been used to finance the unavoidable and frequent overseas travel of Presidency staff.
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Sh1t ............. JZ is costing us

"Unavoidable" overseas travel........... that is BS.............

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