The furore about ministers and their deputies being fully exempt from paying for electricity and water at their official residences keeps getting worse by the day.
On Tuesday, government spokesperson Pumla Williams defended the shameful and tone-deaf move, saying the provision is “part of the package” for members who are living in state-owned houses in service of the country.
Yesterday, mineral resources minister Gwede Mantashe also sought to downplay the issue by insisting he pays for electricity and water at all his private residences.
This was in response to a City Press article, which revealed that President Cyril Ramaphosa has scrapped a R5,000 limit on the amount ministers could claim for water and electricity used in their official residences.
The astonishing revelations about changes in the ministerial handbook, which will effectively mean the taxpayer will carry the burden of costs associated with providing the services to ministers, has been met with outrage. Not only is this unreasonable and insensitive to the plight of many hard-pressed South Africans already faced with increasing high costs of living but it is morally objectionable.
Ministers and their deputies already receive extraordinary taxpayer-funded perks such as official cars, allowances, travel expenses and flights while ordinary people struggle to make ends meet. In addition to this, while many citizens have had to contend with shrinking wages and rising costs of electricity and water because of the economic downturn, ironically ministers were shamelessly given wage increases.
The moral and economic debate of this rule change to allow ministers to have free water and electricity is far from settled. How can this make sense in a country where inequality and unemployment is so high with many working-class people struggling to recover from the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic?
How can the decision make sense in the current economic climate where even government is struggling to raise enough taxes to fund many of the service delivery needs of our people?
We believe this decision is egregious in the face of the current problems faced by all South Africans, especially as it relates to the cost of services and living. The ministers and their deputies ought to lead by example by paying for services out of their own pockets at all their residences – official or private – and not expect taxpayers to foot their bill.
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