The Department of Defence spent almost R500 million on the Presidential Medical Unit since 2019.
The unit covers the medical costs for the current and former Presidents, their deputies, and their spouses.
This emerged in a written parliamentary reply by Defence Minister Angie Motshekga to a question from the Democratic Alliance (DA).
DA spokesperson on Defence and Military Veterans Chris Hattingh asked the Minister for the cost of the medical upkeep for these high-level politicians over the years.
The response contains a detailed breakdown of the amounts for the past five financial years since March 2019, up to and including the first quarter of this financial year.
Hattingh elaborates, “This expenditure of blue lighting and red carpeting comes at a time when the SANDF [South African National Defence Force] is experiencing serious budget constraints where our deployed soldiers lack adequate logistical medical, tactical as well as air support. We will continue to pursue this matter in the interest of transparent, responsible and accountable expenditure.”
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