South African mayor bans first class flights for public officials

The mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay municipality has banned public officials in his jurisdiction from flying business and first class during domestic functions.

Athol Trollip said in a statement on Sunday that the directive is to save money for development purposes.

Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Athol Trollip prohibits business and first class travel: https://t.co/zp1YgL70oq pic.twitter.com/MS7NY0W9eB

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“Under previous administrations, an excessive amount of money was spent on luxurious travel instead of on service delivery. Those days are over,” he said while directing for travel arrangements to be done in advance for cheaper fares.

Public officials in the region are now restricted to economy class and this is expected to help Trollip’s administration to fulfil promise of saving R100m in its first 100 days in office to improve service delivery and create jobs, South Africa’s News24 reported.

The Nigerian government in April banned public officials from flying first class on official duties after Ghana’s president issued the same ban in 2015 to cut high travelling cost.

Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality comprises the city of Port Elizabeth, the nearby towns of Uitenhage and Despatch, and the surrounding rural area.