While millions of South Africans tighten their belts amid soaring unemployment and stagnant wages, a select group of government elites is living large — on the taxpayers’ dime. For many, the revelations conjure the spirit of “let them eat cake” — a phrase long associated with the last queen of France before the French Revolution, Marie Antoinette.
It is said to have been her response on being told that French peasants had no bread, implying a profound disconnect from the realities of the poor by suggesting they could simply eat a luxury food instead.
In just one year, SA’s ministers have spent more than R200m on travel. The numbers are staggering: deputy president Paul Mashatile’s office confirmed spending more than R7.9m on four international trips. On a working visit to London, Mashatile and his spouse reportedly spent R346,000 a night on accommodation — totalling R5.475m for the trip. A four-night stay in Japan set the taxpayer back nearly R1m. The department of minerals & petroleum resources under minister Gwede Mantashe spent R1.92m on international travel in just four months, with indications that first-class travel was used. The department of international relations & cooperation spent R21.63m — a figure that dwarfs the travel spend of the presidency at R13.34m. Other departments also reported multimillion-rand travel bills.
The public is left to wonder: what tangible benefits have these luxury junkets delivered? Where are the jobs, investments, or breakthroughs that justify such spending?
These figures would be shocking in any context, but they are particularly galling in a country where nearly half the population lives below the poverty line. While the political elite sojourn in five-star hotels, ordinary South Africans face rolling blackouts, failing schools, and collapsing public hospitals. The contrast could not be starker — or more infuriating.
During Nelson Mandela’s years as a global statesman, the approach to official travel was markedly different from this era of government extravagance. Mandela’s international trips, such as his 1990 US tour, were often organised under tight financial constraints, with his team sometimes struggling to secure transportation. Host governments frequently provided logistical support, security, and official hospitality in keeping with diplomatic norms, helping to keep costs modest and focused on state business rather than personal luxury. Mandela was renowned for his personal modesty, donating a third of his presidential salary to the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund and living simply despite the trappings of high office. His travels, while extensive and essential for SA’s diplomatic reintegration, were rarely associated with the lavish spending, luxury accommodation, or first-class indulgence we see from the political elite of today.
The ANC’s defence is as predictable as it is hollow. Officials claim that overseas trips are vital for diplomatic engagement, economic development, and maintaining SA’s standing on the world stage. Yet, the lack of transparency and incomplete reporting — some ministers have refused to disclose full details of their travel expenses — suggests that accountability is an afterthought. The public is left to wonder: what tangible benefits have these luxury junkets delivered? Where are the jobs, investments, or breakthroughs that justify such spending?
The truth is, this is not about diplomacy. It’s about entitlement. The ANC’s liberation credentials have curdled into a culture of privilege, where the trappings of power are seen as personal rewards rather than tools for public service. The ANC needs to rediscover the humility and sense of duty that once defined its leadership, when public service was guided by modesty and accountability. SA cannot afford a political class that treats the state as a private travel agency, especially when clear guidelines exist to prevent such excess. Restoring integrity to government spending is not just a matter of compliance, but a prerequisite for rebuilding public confidence in democracy.
• Kajee is a lecturer at Southern Utah University, a non-resident research fellow at the Korea Institute for Maritime Strategy and a researcher for the SeaLight maritime transparency initiative at Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation.
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