Suspend Defence minister, says DA

Tuesday 27 April 2021, 08:17am/ Mandla Nkosi

Defence and Military Veterans Minister, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula: image supplied

Cape Town – The Democratic Alliance (DA) has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to institute an urgent investigation into allegations that Defence and Military Veterans Minister, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, wasted millions of taxpayers’ money on chartered flights and luxury accommodation.

The party says she must also be suspended without compensation pending the outcome of the investigation.

According to DA Shadow Defence Minister, Kobus Marais, says a dossier of evidence has been submitted to the Joint Standing Committee on Defence, detailing at least five instances where doubt can be cast over Mapisa-Nqakula’s actions.

Marais also questioned whether Ramaphosa’s close relation with Charles Nqakula, the husband of the Defence minister and one of his senior advisers is influencing his decision-making amid ’’mounting evidence of malfeasance against her’’.

’’A dossier of evidence has been submitted to the Joint Standing Committee on Defence detailing at least five instances where doubt can be cast over the minister’s actions.

This is in addition to evidence that had been submitted to the committee on a previous occasion that alleged Minister Mapisa-Nqakula had ’extorted’ more than R5 million from a South African National Defence Force (SANDF) service provider,’’ Marais said.

It was previously reported that the Minister allegedly spent:

• R4 million on a chartered flight from the Waterkloof Airforce Base in Pretoria to Cairo in Egypt in April 2019;
• R400 000 on a five-day stay in the Marriott Essex House, a luxury hotel overlooking Central Park in New York, USA, in September 2019;
• R350 000 in November 2019 for a six-day stay at the Hotel Du Collectionneur Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France, for her and three departmental attachés. And an Avis transport bill of nearly R150 000; and
• R2.5 million to charter an aircraft to Angola, Guinea, Ghana and Togo, which bizarrely included a flight from Lanseria International Airport to Cape Town International Airport and one from Waterkloof Airport Base to Lanseria International Airport, which was in driving distance.

’’How long will President Ramaphosa allow his close connection with Charles Nqakula, the husband of the Defence minister and one of his senior advisers, to influence his dismissal of mounting evidence of malfeasance against her,’’ Marais asked.

’’Minister Mapisa-Nqakula is clearly not suited for her post. Whether its corruption, incompetence or wilful ignorance, she has proven time and again that she cannot handle her duties as Minister, especially not in a Department as important as Defence. She is frivolous with a dwindling defence budget and cannot be trusted with the safety and security of the country.

’’Rumours of an imminent cabinet reshuffle abound, and it would be the perfect opportunity for the President to get rid of this dead-weight minister once and for all.’’

The Insider