Dear Madam/Sir

I refer to your article of 6 October 2019 titled “The policy that has seen R60m spent since 2016 on former Presidents and their wives” dealing with the benefits afforded to former Presidents. 

The article quotes DA MP Leon Schreiber – referring to “the lifestyles of the rich and shameless” – and claiming that

“…taxpayers foot the bill of the lifestyles of six former presidents, deputies and their families….We spend about R3.5 million per year on each former president…” and “this is all on top of the generous pension benefits and the R3 million annual salary each president continues to receive for the rest of their lives.”