Western Cape Legislature Speaker Sharna Fernandez has paid back the money she used to buy a polony gatsby and other dite with R1 700 in taxpayers’ money.
Fernandez, speaking at the annual report presentation of the institution, this week said the matter of her irregular spending had now been settled.
She also insisted that she never ate a gatsby in her office, reports the Cape Argus.
The Cape Flats favourite was bought at Food Inn restaurant in Long Street in the CBD on 12 January.
“I never ate any gatsby in my office, nor did I go and buy one. That is the point of the matter.
GATSBY TRAIN: W.Cape Legislature Speaker Sharna Fernandez
“I also hope that this brings the gatsby issue to an end,” Fernandez said.
It was Pierre Uys, the ANC chief whip, who raised the issue of irregular expenditure.
Mark Wiley, the DA chief whip, wanted clarity on whether the expenditure was classified as irregular or as wasteful and fruitless.
Dawood Jawoodien, a senior finance official, said: “It is correct that the money has been paid back, and it was corrected. The amounts relate to irregular expenditure.”
The R45 gatsby was one of dozens of kos items bought by Fernandez’s office which were in contravention of the
provincial parliament’s petty-cash policy.
A total of R1 700 was irregularly spent on the gatsby, Woolworths choc-chip yoghurt, Red Bull and a ham sandwich, among other things.
INSTIGATE: Pierre Uys
Further investigation revealed that approval of the irregular purchases “only took place after the expenses were incurred”.
Auditors examined only two payment vouchers - dated 9 and 17 January - and ordered managers to investigate whether any similar transactions had happened.
Purchases also included salmon fish cakes, bananas and a bag of butternut, cauliflower and courgettes from Woolworths.
In the legislature’s annual report, there is an amount of R6 691 that was spent in contravention of policy.