Taxpayers can’t be the only ones to tighten their belts

This weekend one of the Sunday newspapers published a front page story under the title "Deputy Minister bust in lobolo 'subsidy' ".

According to the report, Social Development deputy minister Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu offered to take a would-be in-law who was employed in her office on four international trips so that he could save up money to pay lobolo for her niece.

The newspaper apparently got hold of a voice recording of the conversation between deputy minister Bogopane-Zulu and Zwidofhela Mafoko, during which she suggests that he accompanies her on four international trips to allow him to use part of his daily S&T allowance (R14 000 – R18 000 per trip) and save the rest to pay the lobolo.

Of course there is nothing wrong about eating cup-a-soup and drinking rooibos tea that you brought from home in your hotel room to save some money, but the amounts seem obscene – especially given that most official costs would have been paid.

However, it is the rest of the story that really left me gobsmacked.

According to the report, Bogopane-Zulu said that she wanted to employ someone with a disability in her office.

For this the deputy minister should be applauded.

Apparently her staff told her about Mafoko, but indicated that they couldn't employ him presumably for lack of qualifications, given that he only had matric and according to the deputy minister's account was working as a fruit and vegetable hawker close to the ministerial offices in Pretoria at the time.

The deputy minister then met Mafoko and appointed him. Soon after he met his future wife at an official function and in 2016, the lobolo discussion took place with the deputy minister.