When then-finance minister Pravin Gordhan announced cost-cutting measures in 2013, he said he was cutting the suit to fit the cloth.
But a parliamentary response detailing requests for exemptions from these measures proves officials are struggling to fit into slim-cut suits.
In response to a question by the DA’s David Maynier, the national Treasury this week detailed all the requests for exemptions from national Treasury instruction 01 of 2013-2014, which outlined measures aimed at slashing the R25-billion government spent on consultants, flights, travel, accommodation and entertainment.
Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene said in his reply that of the more than 50 requests for deviations only a handful had been approved – among them a request to ditch the R1300 per night hotel spend for State Security Agency agents.
However, before South Africa’s spooks start living the James Bond lifestyle, they will require prior approval from their department’s accounting officer.
Operatives will not, however, be travelling in style, as Treasury turned down their “blanket request” to deviate from the air travel instructions which allow business class flights only for certain officials.
The Department of Defence’s request for similar exemptions for high ranking officers was also denied.
The spies also had to forego a team-building event while the Department of Defence’s planned inter-departmental potjiekos competition went to pot without Treasury sponsorship.
The Presidency requested that officials be able to fly business class, as they are expected to fly for up to 20 hours and still be “fresh” for meetings on arrival. The request was denied.
The Eastern Cape Department of Co-operative Government and Traditional Affairs were not happy with Group B rental cars – such as the Hyundai i20 and Volkswagen Polo – stating they are “not comfortable” and they affected “effective participation” in “crucial meetings”.
Lower salaried staff appear to be immune to this effect as the department states that participation is affected in “level 15 and above”. Level 15 and above staff in the department also found rooms at R1300 per night to be unsuitable.
Maynier said that the measures had little impact, cutting spending by just R2-billion in the last financial year.
He said this pointed to resistance on the part of departments to cut back and that the big-pending “bad apples” needed to be identified and dealt with in parliament.
Cost-cutting measures trim SA spooks’ wings
But a parliamentary response detailing requests for exemptions from these measures proves officials are struggling to fit into slim-cut suits.
In response to a question by the DA’s David Maynier, the national Treasury this week detailed all the requests for exemptions from national Treasury instruction 01 of 2013-2014, which outlined measures aimed at slashing the R25-billion government spent on consultants, flights, travel, accommodation and entertainment.
Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene said in his reply that of the more than 50 requests for deviations only a handful had been approved – among them a request to ditch the R1300 per night hotel spend for State Security Agency agents.
However, before South Africa’s spooks start living the James Bond lifestyle, they will require prior approval from their department’s accounting officer.
Operatives will not, however, be travelling in style, as Treasury turned down their “blanket request” to deviate from the air travel instructions which allow business class flights only for certain officials.
The Department of Defence’s request for similar exemptions for high ranking officers was also denied.
The spies also had to forego a team-building event while the Department of Defence’s planned inter-departmental potjiekos competition went to pot without Treasury sponsorship.
The Presidency requested that officials be able to fly business class, as they are expected to fly for up to 20 hours and still be “fresh” for meetings on arrival. The request was denied.
The Eastern Cape Department of Co-operative Government and Traditional Affairs were not happy with Group B rental cars – such as the Hyundai i20 and Volkswagen Polo – stating they are “not comfortable” and they affected “effective participation” in “crucial meetings”.
Lower salaried staff appear to be immune to this effect as the department states that participation is affected in “level 15 and above”. Level 15 and above staff in the department also found rooms at R1300 per night to be unsuitable.
Maynier said that the measures had little impact, cutting spending by just R2-billion in the last financial year.
He said this pointed to resistance on the part of departments to cut back and that the big-pending “bad apples” needed to be identified and dealt with in parliament.
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