Johannesburg – Two deputy ministers in the Presidency and their support teams spent R6.4 million on travel-related costs during the 2025/26 financial year, according to a parliamentary response by Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni.
The figures, reported by Daily Investor, cover car rentals, flights, accommodation and subsistence and travel expenses incurred by Deputy Ministers Nonceba Mhlauli and Kenneth Morolong and members of their support teams.
The expenditure was disclosed after ActionSA MP Dr Kgosi Letlape asked for a breakdown of official travel by Ntshavheni and her deputies since they took office on 3 July 2024.
According to the figures, Mhlauli’s team spent R1.86 million during 2025/26, including R876,607 on car rentals, R613,330 on flights and R335,716 on accommodation.
Morolong’s team accounted for the larger share, spending R4.54 million during the same period. This included R2.93 million on car rentals, R809,359 on flights and R689,957 on accommodation.
Official duties
The spending was higher than the approximately R4.1 million recorded for the two deputy ministers and their teams during 2024/25, bringing the disclosed expenditure for the two periods to about R10.5 million, TimesLIVE reported.
The travel was linked to official duties including ministry outreach programmes, stakeholder engagements, parliamentary work, presidential imbizos, district development model engagements, awards ceremonies and other government programmes.
The response also showed that Morolong’s team spent more than R3.27 million on car rentals across the two financial periods, while Mhlauli’s team spent about R1.6 million on car hire.
The figures have emerged alongside questions about Ntshavheni’s own travel expenditure.
Letlape also requested a detailed breakdown of the minister’s official trips, including destinations, purposes, transport, accommodation, meals and other expenses.
Ntshavheni referred the portion relating to her travel to Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence.
“The travels that are shared on social media platforms are those that [are] public in nature. The information provided to the JSCI is for all the trips undertaken,” Ntshavheni said.
BusinessTech also reported the R6.4 million expenditure, noting that the amount related to the two deputies and their teams during the 2025/26 financial year.
The disclosures provide a two-year picture of travel expenditure associated with the two deputy ministers, with the latest financial year accounting for the larger share of the bill.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
