Minister in the Presidency for planning, monitoring and evaluation Maropene Ramokgopa is accused of being a globetrotter who exhausted her annual travel budget with overseas trips and luxury hire vehicles.
Records Sunday World has seen show that Ramokgopa exhausted her annual budget in just five months, and it is alleged she is now tapping into the coffers of the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), which she has been tasked to phase out early next year.
The minister also faces accusations of renting luxury cars such as Mercedes Benz GLEs and Volvo XC90s, despite having official cars, including a brand new Audi Q5, assigned to her.
Yesterday, Ramokgopa denied her office’s claim that she had already used up all of her travel funds. However, she confirmed she has been to five countries in four months this year.
According to government records, Ramokgopa only spent 20 days in October in South Africa. She also only spent 22 days in the country in September and the rest overseas.
Ramokgopa admitted that she has been to:
- Kigali, Rwanda, on August 11;
- New York, USA, from September 22 to 28;
- London, United Kingdom, from September 29 to October 6;
- Hamburg, Germany, from October 6-8, and
- Beijing, China, from October 28 to November 1.
The minister failed to disclose the total amount she has spent on her trips thus far, but Sunday World has seen documentary evidence indicating that she spent more than R1-million on trips to the USA and the United Kingdom alone.
Sunday World has also seen an invoice for renting a Mercedes Benz GLE in Cape Town at a cost of R18 000.
Once again, Ramokgopa did not disclosed the total amount she spent on car rentals.
“I do not have specific details of resources spent on rental cars, but I can request the department to share such information,” she said.
According to three sources with direct knowledge, Ramokgopa received a white Audi Q5, purchased for late minister Pravin Gordhan, after the former public enterprises minister retired from public office.
“The Q5 is gathering dust at the minister’s garage while she is travelling in other luxury vehicles,” one of the sources said.
But Ramokgopa yesterday denied this. “I have never been allocated a brand new Audi Q5 that was initially bought for the late minister Gordhan.”
She said the Q5 that she was using in Gauteng “was only procured in June 2023”.
“No official vehicle meeting relevant standards and conditions outlined in the ministerial handbook has been allocated or procured for my official duties in Cape Town,” she explained.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has tasked Ramokgopa with overseeing the team responsible for wrapping up the public enterprises department, with finalisation expected early next year.
“We now understand the minister has tapped into that department’s coffers for globe-trotting trips,” a source said.
Ramokgopa denied she is now tapping into the budget of the public enterprises department.
“The official visit to China was undertaken as part of the mandate of the DPE, and as such, the budget used for this visit was from DPE,” she said.
