WAS it caviar and 6-star hotels or imported linen and the services of the next Masterchef? Finance MEC Francois Rodgers is battling to understand how senior public servants in KwaZulu-Natal ran up a food and accommodation tab of more than R1 billion in a single year.

The staggering subsistence and travel (S&T) bill, which ate into the province’s coffers during the 2023/24 financial year, was in addition to a R600 million government airtime and data bill in the same period.

Rodgers is now considering a probe to get to the heart of the massive expense.

In an interview with the Independent On Saturday, Rodgers expressed disbelief over what he perceives as potential misuse of state funds amid challenging financial circumstances.

“How is it possible that so much money was spent on travel and accommodation? Where were people staying and what were they eating?” the exasperated MEC asked.

Recently the S&T issue came under the spotlight when members of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party claimed that they were given substandard accommodation while participating in ‘Taking Legislature to the People’ events on the KZN north coast.

A probe into the R600m spent on airtime and data is already underway.

That investigation comes after a tipoff by whistleblowers who alleged that senior public servants were selling airtime and data from cellphone contracts entered into and paid for by the state.

The probe being considered by Rodgers would go back as far as 2021 to help establish the extent of the problem and how to put an end to it.

With the provincial government under financial pressure, questions have been asked about how the province could finance the massive communications bill.

Rodgers, of the DA, took over as Finance MEC from the ANC’s Peggy Nkonyeni after the May elections. He said it was crucial to stabilise KwaZulu-Natal’s financial position and get rid of the nice-to-haves and ensure that they could account for every rand and cent.

“We have frontline departments that should not be compromised because children need to go to school, and there is a demand for health services and social services; these are all departments which provide critical services to our people and it cannot be that we have R600 million that cannot be properly accounted for,” he said.

Rodgers said he was alarmed to recently learn that he had five SIM cards and contracts from various networks, including tablets, laptops and cellphones. He said while they might be linked to his name, he was unaware of some of them and this pointed to possible abuse of the system.

“A preliminary investigation has revealed that some of these costs may be duplications. There is also a possibility that we are paying for the accounts of former and deceased employees,” he said.

Rodgers conceded that the probe was likely to make him unpopular in some circles, but insisted that he had a job to do.

“I did not take this job in order to be popular. In any event, there is nothing like a popular Finance Minister or MEC, because once you acquire such a status it means you are taking popular decisions which have a negative bearing on the state coffers.”

He cited former finance minister Trevor Manuel and current finance minister Enoch Godongwana, saying they had incurred the wrath of many because of decisions taken to stabilise the country’s finances. But in the long run those decisions had impacted positively on the country’s growth and service delivery, he said.

Rodgers said the provincial treasury was also examining its relationship with a financial institution in relation to vehicle maintenance and repairs.

He was concerned by the slow turnaround time on repairs and maintenance of state vehicles, and the effect it had on service-orientated departments.

“I have spoken with the Health MEC on how the turnaround time on maintenance and repairs on ambulances was impacting on the delivery of healthcare, and it is something we need to look at with the intention to improve the situation.”

Rodgers also cautioned against stonewalling of the investigation by officials, insisting he would act promptly against people who stand in the way of good governance and fiscal discipline.

“The approach is that if we are able to address what may appear as minor issues in our spending patterns, this will go a long way towards changing the overall financial picture of the government’s financial position,” the MEC said.

He warned officials who had been milking the system for years that they would face dire consequences, adding that the preliminary findings of the investigation were expected at the end of January.