By: Natasha Archary
The Democratic Alliance (DA) is calling for Public Protector, Koleka Gcaleka to investigate President Cyril Ramaphosa’s travel “gluttony” while South Africans starve.
This comes after the President’s onboard catering for the Inkwazi Presidential jet cost a whopping R600 000 last year, when Ramaphosa and 18 VIP guests attended Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral and a State Visit to London.
Catering on the 12-hour flight to London from South Africa allegedly cost R24 000 a head, costing just under R600 000.
The DA will be writing to Gcaleka requesting a full investigation into allegations of exorbitant and wasteful expenditure aboard the Presidential aircraft.
“It is clear that while President Ramaphosa and his VIPs rack up exorbitant catering and alcohol bills for travel, at the expense of the South African taxpayer, thousands of ordinary South Africans are left to perish from severe hunger and malnutrition.
So blatant is the gluttony and greed of presidential VIPs, that even surplus food, drink and entire chocolate cakes are smuggled out of Inkwazi in their luggage.
In the face of a mounting hunger crisis in South Africa, Ramaphosa’s callous response of “let them steal cake” is the ultimate depiction of just how out of touch the President is with the needs of the South African people, and how uncaring the ANC government has become as the ruling party has become drunk on power.”
The DA shares that a report by investigative journalist, Estelle Ellis, last week detailed that between August 2022 and September 2023, 1 722 cases of severe acute malnutrition in children were dignosed in the Eastern Cape.
Of these 101 died, as did another 13 who were diagnosed with moderate to severe acute malnutrition.
The opposition party says it is calling for an immediate investigation into these allegations of travel gluttony so that public money can be spent feeding the hungry and not “fat cat” ANC politicians.
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