MARIANNE MERTEN: McKenzie’s Paris trip showcases state’s cavalier attitude to spending taxes
Sports minister’s costly visit to Olympics underscores how institutional corruption hollows out the state
The saga of sports minister Gayton McKenzie’s R804,597.71 ministerial trip to the Paris Olympics underscores how civil servants and their political bosses scorn ethical spending of tax rand, and how processes and oversight within government fail.
When in his 2013 medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS) then finance minister Pravin Gordhan gave government spending a “haircut”, cancelling government credit cards, limiting them to business class on overseas trips and spelling out what cars they could buy, he spoke of the need to save and invest more so that the economy expanded and diversified to support accelerated job creation. ..
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