Question NW65 to the Minister of Finance
19 May 2016 - NW65
Atkinson, Mr P to ask the Minister of Finance
(1)(a) How many persons attended the 2016 World Economic Forum conference in Davos, Switzerland, as part of the delegation of the National Treasury and (b) what are their (i) names and (ii) formal designations or positions in Government; (2) (a) how many of the specified persons in the delegation of the National Treasury paid the full £29 000 conference fee and (b) what was the total cost of the specified delegation’s visit to the specified conference in terms of amounts paid for (i) conference fees, (ii) accommodation, (iii) subsistence and (iv) travel costs; (3) whether any rebates were negotiated for additional members; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details; (4) whether any family members of delegates travelled with them to Switzerland at the state’s expense; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, (a) what are their names and (b) who did they accompany
Reply:
(1a) The Minister and four delegates from the National Treasury attended WEF Davos in 2016. National Treasury is the appointed coordinator of the government wide delegation to WEF Davos and so two of these officials attended in this capacity.
(1b) (i&ii) Ministerial delegation:
Minister Gordhan – Minister of Finance
Monale Ratsoma – Deputy Director-General: Economic Policy
Busi Sokhulu – Personal Assistant: Office of the Minister of Finance
WEF Coordinators:
Ofentse Lekwape – Assistant Director: International and Regional Economic Policy
Rebecca Murdoch – Deputy Director: International and Regional Economic Policy
(2a) None of the persons specified were required to pay fees to attend the conference, with the exception of a EUR50 fee for access badges for three of the delegates (see table 1).
(2b) The total cost of the five National Treasury delegates that travelled to WEF Davos was R549 383.72. A breakdown of these costs is in Table 1.
Table 1: Breakdown of costs for WEF
|
(i) conference fees1 |
(ii) accommodation |
(iii) subsistence |
(iv) travel costs2 |
|
|
Minister Gordhan |
0 |
R40 145 |
R7 983 |
R66 217 |
|
Busi Sokhulu |
R850 |
R73 900 |
R7 579 |
R29 963.72 |
|
Monale Ratsoma |
0 |
R38 484 |
R10 428 |
R63 670 |
|
Ofentse Lekwape3 |
0 |
R74 680 |
R23 386 |
R26 786 |
|
Rebecca Murdoch3 |
R850 |
R74 680 |
R23 386 |
R26 786 |
|
TOTAL |
R1 700 |
R301 889 |
R62 334 |
R183 459.72 |
1 Fee for access badges (EUR50).
2 Travel costs consist mainly of flights as National Treasury delegates used the complimentary WEF vehicles and shuttles to travel in and around Davos. VIP airport lounge services for Minister Gordhan, Ms Sokhulu; Mr Ratsoma are included in ‘travel costs’.
3 Mr Lekwape and Ms Murdoch were required to travel ahead of the conference as they were responsible for the coordination of the government delegation to WEF which accounts for their higher accommodation and subsistence costs.
(3) Not applicable: there were no additional members attending WEF from the National Treasury.
(4) No family members