The Presidency of South Africa has incurred significant expenses on car hire for Deputy Minister Kenny Morolong, totaling R2.76m over an 11-month period. According to a written parliamentary reply by Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, Morolong's car hire costs amounted to R167,141 in the nine months from July 2024 to March 2025. This figure surged to R2,757,409 between April 2025 and February 2026.
Minister Ntshavheni provided the figures in response to a query by ActionSA MP Dr Kgosi Letlape, who sought a detailed breakdown of travel expenses for herself and her two deputies since taking office on July 3, 2024. The query included requests for the purpose, destination, and cost of every trip, as well as transport, accommodation, and meal expenses. Ntshavheni provided information on her deputies, Morolong and Nonceba Mhlauli, but did not disclose her own travel costs.
Ntshavheni attributed part of Letlape's query to Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence, stating that some information was not publicly disclosed due to state security concerns. Letlape expressed concerns that Ntshavheni continued to defy the Constitution by not providing the required information while sharing some official travel on social media. Ntshavheni clarified that publicly shared travels were those of a public nature, while detailed information was provided to the intelligence committee.
The Deputy Minister's office expenses, including car hire, accommodation, and flights, totaled R5.06m. Car hire accounted for R2.93m of the R4.54m spent on Morolong's office between April 2025 and February 2026. In contrast, Deputy Minister Mhlauli's travel costs amounted to R1.99m, with car hire making up R1.33m of that total.
The Presidency spent a total of R10.5m on travel for the two deputy ministers and their staff between July 2024 and February 2026. Morolong's office accounted for R7.36m, more than double the R3.14m spent on Mhlauli's office. The purposes of Morolong's office travel included Parliament, imbizos, parliamentary debates, Women's Day, the SA Traditional Music Achievement Awards, and a state funeral.
Ntshavheni has previously declined to disclose her travel costs publicly, citing state security concerns. In June last year, she stated that about 80% of her travel was related to state security work and that disclosing the costs could compromise national security initiatives. ActionSA has criticized Ntshavheni for not providing transparent information on her travel expenses.
The latest parliamentary reply also revealed that Morolong's staff incurred significant expenses, including R141,553 in subsistence and travel costs for his head of office between July 2024 and March 2025. The head of office's accommodation over those nine months cost a further R374,318.
Key points
- The Presidency spent R2.76m hiring cars for Deputy Minister Kenny Morolong in 11 months.
- Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni did not disclose her own travel costs, citing state security concerns.
- The total travel expenses for the two deputy ministers and their staff amounted to R10.5m between July 2024 and February 2026.
