Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool will have to pay back nearly a quarter of a million rand paid to him as an extra car allowance while he was the province’s finance MEC, his office said on Thursday.
Meanwhile, a Democratic Alliance MPL said she had told Rasool a year ago that his allowances — as printed in the budget — seemed too high.
An investigation in the overpayment would be launched and the salaries of 70 000 civil servants in the Western Cape government would also be checked, according to a statement issued by Rasool’s office in the interests of open and transparent government.
”In the process of transferring the salary of the premier from his previous portfolio as finance minister to that of premier, it was discovered that he had mistakenly been paid an extra car allowance.
”A further investigation on the request of the premier, conducted by the office of the director-general and Treasury has revealed an accumulated overpayment of R220 000 for the period that the premier was an MEC,” his office said.
”Rasool has made it completely clear that he will repay the full amount overpaid. He will receive a breakdown on the amount that he has already repaid in terms of tax and the outstanding difference.
The premier is unable to pay such a large amount in a lump sum, but has made arrangements to begin repayments from July, following the calculations needed on the actual repayment amount.”
A question posed in the provincial legislature last year regarding Rasool’s salary did not alert anyone to the repayment, Rasool’s office said.
The DA’s Robin Carlisle said she was greatly concerned that it took another year after her question for the matter to be corrected.
”A very urgent and very open multi-party investigation is required, open to the media and the public. The DA hopes that the new administration is not going to suffer a casualty, but if this is necessary, then it must happen sooner rather than later,” Carlisle said. – Sapa