Deputy Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba has undertaken to repay his department R1 020 on Thursday for flowers he sent to his wife.
When the issue arose and was brought to his attention in the middle of this year, he had immediately stated his intention to pay back the ”personal accounts that should have been brought to me and not paid for by the department”, Gigaba told a media briefing on Wednesday.
He had therefore asked the department what the amount involved was, and the department responded with a figure of R1 020.
Thus, this amount will be paid back to the department on Thursday, he said.
There had never been an intention on his part to deny or attempt to avoid responsibility as the political authority.
”It is obviously an administrative matter which should have been brought to my attention as it happened,” Gigaba said. ”Because, as you know, ministers and deputy ministers are not responsible for cash transactions in their offices. That is done by the administrative staff, the support staff.
”But I decided to take responsibility for it. And so there is nothing sinister about it, and tomorrow [Thursday], because the matter is finalised, it will therefore be paid back to the department,” Gigaba said. — Sapa