The decision by the ANC to pay all expenses incurred by the government when the party's delegation used an SANDF aircraft to fly to Zimbabwe recently is a positive move.
ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule in a statement issued yesterday acknowledged that the trip had happened in an “unusual manner”.
“We travelled in an unusual manner and profusely humble ourselves where we went wrong during the lockdown and will reimburse the government for the costs incurred on behalf of our delegation,” he said.
We welcome the realisation of wrongdoing and the decision to refund the taxpayers' money used on the trip as this should never have happened to begin with.
It comes after a backlash from the public and the opposition parties after it was reported that the ANC delegation led by Magashule had hitched a lift on the state-owned plane which was used by defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula to the neighbouring country on an official visit.
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President Cyril Ramaphosa demanded a report from the minister which was submitted on Sunday. The department of home affairs also launched its own probe on the matter, and we wait for the details on how this trip was organised to be revealed.
However, in yesterday's statement Magashule went on to say: “Our delegation is under quarantine in line with our lockdown regulations.” However, the statement was silent on the fact some of the people on his delegation have been out and about already, breaking lockdown regulations.
They might be in isolation now, but what about the days before this decision? Will any punitive measures be taken against the ones who did not quarantine after returning from Harare – breaching lockdown regulations?
Ordinary citizens who broke lockdown rules went through the court system for their various offences, so the governing party officials cannot be let off the hook. In the spirit of remorse, let the ANC acknowledge all the wrongs relating to this matter. Yes, it has admitted it was done in an “unusual manner”, but did its members obtain permits?
And who authorised the use of the military aircraft?
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