Free State Legislature
In a recent interview with Central News Live, Free State Legislature spokesperson Life Mokone addressed the allegations surrounding the expenses of Speaker Zanele Sifuba’s official trip to Ghana. Mokone emphasized that the legislature had paid R172,000 for the speaker’s flight tickets with personal assistant, not the reported R800,000.
The news of the alleged high expense was first broken by the Free State Insider on October 2, 2023, in an article titled: “Speaker Demands Legislature to Pay R800,000 for Her Two Flight Tickets to Ghana.”
During the interview, Mokone explained that their supply chain processes required them to gather three quotes from multiple airlines, and the highest quote received was R454,000.
Life Mokone Free State Legislature Spokesman
Contrary to the claims made by the Free State Insider, Mokone stated that the speaker’s proposed itinerary did not include a layover in Dubai and that a direct round-trip ticket from South Africa to Ghana typically costs only R60,000 for two individuals. The inclusion of Dubai as a layover was not part of the official trip plans and was not responsible for the supposed high expenses.
According to the Free State Insider, a well-placed source from the legislature revealed concerns about the speaker’s apparent disregard for fiscal responsibility and the misuse of taxpayers’ funds. The source also suggested that the legislature’s Chief Financial Officer, Quinton Hugo, had shown resistance towards approving such extravagant expenses. The lack of transparency and accountability among elected officials was raising significant concerns among the members of the legislature.
“Speaker Zanele Sifuba has remained unreachable for comment, raising further suspicions about the transparency of this official trip”. The Free State Insider’s attempts to get a comment from the speaker were unsuccessful, further fueling concerns among the public. said Free State Insider.
In response to the article published by the Free State Insider, the Free State Legislature issued a statement on October 12, refuting the claims made against Speaker Sifuba.
Mokone stated that the information provided by the Free State Insider was incorrect, suggesting that the newspaper may have been misinformed or acted deliberately.
He highlighted that, according to the legislature’s Supply Chain Management Policy and other regulations, end-users, such as the speaker, do not perform supply chain management functions.
The Free State Legislature expressed disappointment that the newspaper did not offer the legislature a right of reply before publishing the article. They considered the publication to contain material errors and violation of ethical norms. The legislature demanded a retraction and public apology from the Free State Insider, warning that appropriate action would be taken if these demands were not met.
In response, the Free State Insider stood by their story and stated that they would correct the record and issue an apology if provided with evidence that their story was incorrect. They affirmed their commitment to accuracy and fairness in reporting.
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