Question No 706
Mr P J C Pretorius (DA) to ask the Minister of Public Enterprises:
Whether, in light of the current recession and the consequent shortfall in state revenue, her department has introduced any austerity measures to reduce its expenditure with regard to (a) official vehicles, (b) travel, (c) travel by departmental officials, (d) accommodation and household help or (e) any other aspects of government business; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?
Reply:
(a) As a measure to reduce expenditure, the Minister and Deputy Minister have agreed to utilise two inherited vehicles. Two additional vehicles have been purchased for use in the Pretoria offices; however the cost of these new vehicles were less than the allocated purchase amount as stipulated in the ministerial handbook.
(b-c) There is a conscious effort by the ministry and the department to reduce expenditure on travel. Measures that have been introduced in the department to reduce travel expenditure are as follows:
* Domestic travel: All domestic travel by officials including the Director General is economy class
* International travel: If the duration of a flight is in excess of six hours, business class travel is booked, otherwise economy class applies with the exception of the Minister, Deputy Minister, Director-General and Deputy Director-General’s, as well as those covered in the ministerial handbook when travelling with the Minister
* Car hire: Where possible, vehicles are shared by two or three officials travelling to the same destination. In addition, the department is in the process of identifying hotels within walking distance of the office in Cape Town in an attempt to further reduce expenditure in respect of car hire.
(d) Where possible, both Ministers reside in their private residences.
(e)The department has also introduced various cost saving measures across the board within its operational areas, such as:
* Printing and copying all internal documents in black and white and double-sided. Only documents for external distribution or for Executive management are printed in colour, and only where absolutely necessary
* Where possible, documents are scanned and forwarded to recipients instead of copying and delivering hard copies
* Upgrading memory on computers where viable instead of purchasing new computers
* Wherever possible, conducting meetings via teleconferencing instead of travelling to meeting venues
The department will also be implementing the recommendations of the ministerial task team if there are any areas that have been excluded.
Issued by: Department of Public Enterprises
6 October 2009
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