Goverment Dishes Out Millions On Pot Plants

The National Treasury has spent over R1.2 million on pot plant maintenance in the past five years, at an average of over R200 000 per year, revealed a reply parliamentary question posed to the department.

“It is highly disappointing that despite former Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan’s, commitment to belt tightening measures during his Medium Term Budget Review last year, Treasury failed to take its own advice,” said Democratic Alliance’s (DA), Dion George, in a statement on Tuesday.

“To date, Treasury has already spent R 39, 917.15 this year on pot plant maintenance, eclipsing the Department of Tourism which succeeded in keeping their pot plant expenditure for the past five years to under R20 000,” he added.

Last week, the same parliamentary question revealed that the Department of Science and Technology spent over R1 million on “the maintenance of indoor plants” within the past five years and plans to spend more.

“Disturbingly, the Minister of Science and Technology, Naledi Pandor, confirmed that her Department has already spent a further R90 000 on indoor plant maintenance this financial year, and intends to spend at least R380 000 this financial year,” said the DA’s Annelie Lotriet.

Government spending extended to more than pot plants however, as the DA said it would request that the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA), Thembi Godi, investigate the spending of over R800 000 on a chartered flight.

According to a reply to a parliamentary question, the National Treasury and the Departments of Trade and Industry and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs chartered a flight to the tune of R807 326, 00 to Abuja, Nigeria on the 7 May.

“I will submit further parliamentary questions on these flight details and why it was necessary to charter an aircraft in the first place,” said DA Spokesperson on the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Alf Lees.

“The DA will also attempt to determine all the names of those who were on this flight, and whether any attempt to find a cheaper alternative was made.”