The amount involved in the parliamentary travel voucher scam could reach R16-million, Speaker Baleka Mbete said on Friday.
She was speaking at a media conference at Cape Town International airport in the wake of this week’s court appearance by seven travel agency owners and employees, and speculation that MPs could be next on the Scorpions’ list.
”The amount that has been verified with the carrier, that is SAA [South African Airways], at this point is R13-million,” she said.
”At present they are just trying to clarify perhaps another extra R3-million.”
Mbete, who has just returned from an overseas trip, said a forensic report commissioned by Parliament from PriceWaterhouseCoopers is apparently complete.
”Maybe Monday I’ll find it on my desk,” she said.
It was difficult to say how many people are implicated, but the forensic report will possibly give this figure.
”We are precisely asking for that information ourselves.”
She said she ”would have been happier” had she had the report and been able to say what measures were being put in place to prevent a recurrence of any irregularities.
She said that since April last year, when news of the scam first emerged, names and sets of names have emerged in the public domain.
This is a matter of concern, she said, and it should not be assumed that those named are guilty of wrongdoing.
”We should understand the issue of these names very sensitively,” she said.
It is easy for people’s integrity and image to be damaged and the image of Parliament itself is at stake.
According to a draft charge sheet before court this week, the scam involved a conspiracy to have travel vouchers only valid for air trips ”extended” to cover additional costs such as car hire and hotel accommodation.
This was done by allowing or assisting travel agents to recover the additional costs, such as car hire, from Parliament under the disguise of valid claims for air tickets.
The modi operandi of the accused allegedly saw them adding destination routes to inflate prices, issuing and cancelling tickets on the same day, and then claiming the full fare from Parliament. — Sapa