The Clerk of the Walloon Parliament is at the heart of a scandal after revelations of his abnormally high travel and travel expenses. The newspaper Le Soir reveals that Frédéric Janssens was sometimes accompanied, in particular by Jean-Claude Marcourt, the President of Parliament, when he went to Dubai. This trip would have cost nearly €19,000, at the expense of the Walloons. “It’s outrageous what’s happening“, indignant Germain Mugemangango, head of the PTB group in the Walloon Parliament, at the microphone of Antonio Salimando.
“It can be seen that Walloon households are faced with greater difficulties in relation to energy bills, in relation to purchasing power. Meanwhile, we have Monsieur Marcourt going on a trip at 19,000 to Dubai. It’s obviously a real scandal.“, he adds. Germain Mugemangango sees it as a “culture of privilege in a certain part of the Walloon political class which must end“. “It’s not just a man to blow (Jean-Claude Marcourt, Editor’s note)it is a culture that absolutely must change“, specifies the PTB group leader.
The politician points to the lack of transparency in organized trips: “Who decides on these missions? An office that has confidential meetings, decides on a budget and here is, in the case of Dubai, a luxurious budget“, lamented Germain Mugemangango.
A series of measures have been adopted in this direction. A permanent accounting committee will be set up, assisted by the Court of Auditors. A measure commended by the PTB: “The majority proposes a commission, that’s fine. We voted for it, we supported it. The majority took 40 years to act, but now this commission, we are going to work on it to be able to control the expenses of the parliament“, rejoices the guest.