No laws had been broken through Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka’s holiday trip to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in December, the presidency said on Tuesday,
”It needs to be stressed that in no respect did the deputy president — or those who took the decisions regarding the modalities of travel to Abu Dhabi — infringe any law, regulation or prescript,” presidential spokesperson Murphy Morobe said at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
He dismissed as ”preposterous” the view that Mlambo-Ngcuka had abused her power by taking Thuthukile Mazibuko-Skweyiya — wife of Social Development Minister Zola Skweyiya — with her on the trip, between December 27 and December 31.
Morobe said Mazibuko-Skweyiya went along because she was voluntarily involved in growth initiatives in South Africa.
The deputy president had decided to use her state-funded private trip as an opportunity to learn from the growth and women empowerment projects of the UAE.
She viewed Mazibuko-Skweyiya as ”the right person” to take along, Morobe told reporters.
Accompanying Mlambo-Ngcuka on the SA Air Force plane were her husband Bulelani Ngcuka, their two children and two children of her personal assistant, who was not on the plane, but joined the group later.
The state paid for security, transport and associated costs for all private and official trips by the president and the deputy president, said Morobe.
The Emir of the UAE had provided accommodation for Mlambo-Ngcuka and her party at the government guest-house and the UAE government had covered the transport and incidental costs of the visit.
Although Morobe could not detail exactly how much the trip cost the state, he said the ultimate cost would be publicised in the presidency’s annual report.
However, responding to suggestions that the money could have been better spent elsewhere, Morobe said: ”A figure of R700 000 would be a drop in the ocean if it would be used to address the issues that the public has said the money for this trip could have been used for.”
Earlier, the Democratic Alliance and the Freedom Front Plus asked Public Protector Lawrence Mushwana to probe Mlambo-Ngcuka’s trip. The parties wrote separate letters on Tuesday asking Mushwana to investigate possible violations of the Executive Members Ethics Act. – Sapa