South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa has reprimanded the country’s defence minister, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula after officials of the ruling African National Congress, ANC, used airforce plane to Zimbabwe earlier this month.
The minister will also lose three months of salary, Ramaphosa said on Sunday.
The ANC officials’ use of the aircraft generated widespread criticism over the use of state resources for party business.
Mapisa-Nqakula will not receive her salary for three months from November 1, and the money will instead go to a fund to support the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, Ramaphosa said in a statement.
“The defence minister did not act in the best interest of good governance. The incident showed an error of judgement”.
However, the country’s main opposition Democratic Alliance, DA, called for the minister’s resignation, saying the presidential reprimand was “a mere slap on the wrist” and showed that Ramaphosa does not hold his government to account.
“The DA views these transgressions as a gross violation of (Mapisa-Nqakula’s) oath of office, a dereliction of duty and a complete disregard for ethical standards. Minister Mapisa-Nqakula must therefore be fired immediately,” the party said in a statement.
The opposition also accused the ANC delegates of breaching lockdown regulations, as South Africa’s borders are shut to control the spread of coronavirus.
AFP
