A week into her new job, “South Africa’s top social worker” Sizakele Magangoe blew more than R1m on a trip to New York at taxpayers’ expense, staying at one of Manhattan’s priciest hotels for more than two weeks and spending almost R200,000 on her flight.
She also clocked up R419,000 in “transfers”, and R40,000 in travel and subsistence claims.
Magangoe was part of a large delegation from South Africa — reportedly to have numbered 82 in total — that attended the 69th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. It took place from March 11 to 22, though some of the South African contingent arrived in New York five days earlier, on March 6.
While the government this week was unable to give the cost of the full delegation, or how many officials attended, the department of social development confirmed it had spent just more than R3m on the trip. The department of women, youth and people with disabilities said it had budgeted R2m for five delegates, while the department of higher education told the Sunday Times it had spent R1.6m on five delegates.
The junket has raised questions about the necessity of such a large delegation, whether South Africa got value for money, and whether the money spent could have been better used elsewhere.
“South Africa is battling. People are scratching for food, and when you hear about this kind of spending, you can only ask: ‘Where did we go wrong?’” said governance expert Harlan Cloete.
The UN conference — an annual event — promotes gender equality and the empowerment of women. South Africa is an avid supporter of the event, which is held at UN headquarters in New York.
In 2011 the Sunday Times reported how a delegation of 49 government officials, including eight ministers and deputy ministers, flew business class to New York on a two-week junket, where they stayed at the five-star Ritz Carlton — and failed to attend many of the summit’s sessions. Then correctional services minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula did not attend any.
Social development minister Sisisi Tolashe also attended this year's conference. Her spokesperson, Sandi Mbatsha, confirmed the department’s delegation flew United Airlines and stayed at the prestigious St Regis hotel in Manhattan. The hotel is three blocks from Central Park, and the rooms come standard with a butler service. Costs range from R33,116 to R105,741 a night, according to Rachael Penaluna, MD of Sure Travel.
Penaluna said return flights to New York on United are now R23,424 for economy, and R97,105 for business class. The flight tickets paid for by social development were about double this.
According to a report by the department of social development, the delegation was led by minister in the Presidency for women, youth and people with disabilities Sindisiwe Chikunga. It included:
- basic education deputy minister Makgabo Reginah Mhaule;
- higher education deputy minister Mimmy Gondwe; and
- director-general of the department of women, youth and persons with disabilities Mikateko Joyce Maluleke.
Chikunga said in response to a parliamentary question that the delegation had included those from “government departments at national and provincial levels, government agencies, chapter 9 institutions, academia, private sector and civil society representatives, forming a total of 82”.
Social development spokesperson Lumka Oliphant said the department had sent six people to the event who were “linked to the groundwork and official side events that take place around every conference”.
The R1m spent on flights was “allowed by Treasury guidelines”, which also “allowed the use of available prices at the time, and prices had gone up because of industry price changes caused by the major international engagement”.
Two members of the delegation travelled early to “gather final information to brief the minister and her delegation when they arrived”, Oliphant said.
Members of the delegation had stayed for varying amounts of time, with Magangoe — who was described in her appointment announcement as “South Africa’s top social worker” — having gone for the longest period, and therefore racking up a higher cost.
Magangoe’s costs were listed as:
- R178,892 on her air ticket;
- R1,088 travel insurance;
- R388,833 on hotel accommodation;
- R419,464 on transfers; and
- a R40,196 S&T allowance.
Oliphant said the entire delegation had stayed at the same hotel as the minister to provide support, and the local travel transfers for everyone had been rounded up under Magangoe’s costs as it fell under her welfare services department, and was not a single charge for her.
She said the S&T allowances paid were in line with Treasury prescripts and were necessary because delegates were not provided with lunch or dinner at the conference.
However, the New York trip was not the only costly international visit undertaken by Tolashe since her appointment as minister in July 2024. In November, she attended the First Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children in Bogota, Colombia, with a delegation of five others. Air tickets for her and three others were more than R215,000 each, while the total cost of the trip was R1,463,226.
Higher education spokesperson Sipho Stuurman said Gondwe’s attendance was at the invitation of then minister Nobuhle Nkabane. She was accompanied by two staff members from her office, and two others from the department. The cost of the trip for the five-member delegation was about R1.6m, he said.
Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya told the Sunday Times that President Cyril Ramaphosa approved only international travel by ministers, and that the travel of accompanying officials was managed at department level by the relevant ministries. The presidency did not have sight of the full size of delegations and their related costs.
“If there’s overspending, that must be dealt with by the department concerned. The financial year is still under way, we are yet to have a full consolidated picture of all travel costs for the president to have view. You are picking up on one trip.”
Department of international relations and co-operation spokesperson Clayson Monyela was unable to provide details about the size of the South African delegation and the total cost to the taxpayer.
The department advised departments that attended international events to “keep their delegations at a minimum” because the fiscus was under severe pressure. Only accredited participants should travel and “maximise their participation and engagement”, Monyela said.
Look at the size of delegations and ask the important question for ordinary South Africans: are we getting value for our money?
— Harlan Cloete, governance expert
Cloete — a research fellow at the University of the Free State, whose main interest is exploring evidence-based human resource and development governance systems — said while he was a firm believer in knowledge sharing, attending conferences and workshops was about getting value for money.
“Look at the size of delegations and ask the important question for ordinary South Africans: are we getting value for our money?”
Big delegations were not necessary for conferences where fewer people could go and report back, or attendance could be done remotely.
The lack of response from government departments to requests for information was concerning, he said, as it was a way to avoid accountability.
“The media represents the voice of the people and failure to answer should be condemned at the highest level. This kind of spending appears lavish and raises eyebrows. There may be logical reasons, but they need to be explained to the South African taxpayer who’s footing the bill,” Cloete said.
It also needed to be asked what could be done with the R1m spent by the department of social development on air tickets if this had been given to an orphanage or an NGO instead.
“We have a big problem, and it’s not right that departments don’t account when it’s their responsibility to do so.”
Basic education and the department of women, youth and persons with disabilities did not respond to questions. The presidency did not say which ministers had been authorised to attend the summit.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.