Gauteng Provincial Legislature Speaker Morakane Mosupyoe is facing backlash from opposition parties over a R5.9 million trip to the Feria Internacional de Turismo de Venezuela (Fitven), a four-day tourism fair held in Venezuela in late 2025.
Mosupyoe, 65, led a delegation of four senior managers and seven staff members.
The group left South Africa on November 27, 2025 to attend the event, which took place from November 28, to December 1.
Opposition parties say the trip was an unnecessary use of public money.
They have also raised concerns about another overseas trip Mosupyoe reportedly made to New York.
Documents tabled in the Gauteng legislature show the delegation spent R5.9 million.
This included R3.3 million on flights, more than R900,000 on accommodation, more than R250,000 on transport, R34,000 on travel services and R1.5 million on daily allowances.
The motion says each member of the delegation received about R125,000 in daily allowances. It adds that someone earning R25,000 a month would have to work for five months to earn the same amount.
Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga, who tabled the motion of censure questioned why such a large delegation was sent to a conference that lasted only four days.
The motion says the delegation was larger than necessary because Brand South Africa already had a stand at the event.
It also says the trip produced little benefit for Gauteng residents, especially when the province faces serious service delivery challenges.
“It is disheartening and appalling that the Speaker of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, Morakane Mosupyoe, is spending an excessive amount of money for personal gain while residents of this province are struggling to access basic services such as water, electricity, and proper sanitation,” Msimanga told IOL.
He said the party has already tabled a motion of censure in the legislature and demanded her to be held accountable.
“We call on the House to censure the Speaker for the appalling judgement and a disgraceful waste of a large amount of money that puts personal benefit before the interests of the people of this province. We demand that she be held accountable.”
Masimanga said Mosupyoe’s explanation on the trip was not enough.
“It is not sufficient – hence we tabled the motion of censure. Attached are the replies to our questions during the Office of the Premier’s Portfolio Committee. Answering questions without accountability is not adequate.”
According to him, the “disgraceful” expenditure shows that this government is “arrogant and uncaring.”
“Considering that the government is reducing its expenditure on service delivery and municipalities are facing a severe financial crisis, these resources should have been channelled to service delivery.”
“Furthermore, the non-profit organisations (NGOs) caring for the most vulnerable residents of Gauteng, who depend solely on government grants, are struggling due to funding cuts, while the Speaker is irresponsibly spending taxpayers’ money,” he said.
Meanwhile, another concern is the length of the trip.
Although the tourism fair lasted four days, travel records show the delegation was away for 12 days.
The motion says the extra eight days have not been explained.
The delegation attended the first day of the event before the South African embassy advised them to leave Venezuela because of security concerns.
The group travelled to the airport late at night without confirmed return flights.
They were told the airport was the safest place to stay and were advised to take the first available flight out of Venezuela.
They later boarded a flight to New York.
Although the change in travel plans explains part of the delay, the travel records still show a 12-day trip, leaving the remaining days unexplained.
The trip took place before Venezuela later closed its airspace, so that development did not affect the delegation’s travel plans.
IOL Politics
Simon Majadibodu
iol.co.za
