The minister of defence has refused to answer a
question in Parliament over a claim that R100 000 was spent on a first-class
air ticket for the head of the South African National Defence Force.
Replying to questions in the National Assembly
yesterday, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said she considered it a follow-up to a
previous question on oversight, and would not answer it, Beeld reported.
The Democratic Alliance had referred to a trip
General Solomon Shoke took to Malaysia with Emirates, and had asked what
Mapisa-Nqakula was doing to keep costs down and to stay in line with a national
treasury directive forbidding first-class flights.
DA MP David Maynier submitted that Shoke’s flight
showed that the department was its own enemy and wasted millions of rand, even
though it was in trouble.
When Mapisa-Nqakula refused to answer, DA chief
whip John Steenhuisen objected and said it was not up to her to decide whether
she was going to answer a question or not.
Mapisa-Nqakula eventually said: “Yes there are cost
saving measures.”
The DA said on Monday it would ask the
auditor-general to investigate the flight issue.
