The cost of curtains, kitchens and killing cockroaches has come under scrutiny, with the DA calling for ministers to curb their home expenses.
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This comes as the leading opposition party said it would be submitting a complaint to the anti-graft watchdog about what appeared to be ‘brazen corruption and tender inflation’ in the upkeep of ministerial mansions.
‘Our country simply cannot afford to keep paying for the luxury lifestyles of Ministers who live like Rockstars, while loadshedding, unemployment and poverty are at crisis levels,’ said DA shadow minister for public service Leon Schreiber.
The statement follows the government’s disclosure that R93 million had been spent between 2019 and 2022 on maintaining 97 properties occupied by public representatives, including government ministers, in Cape Town and Pretoria.
The refurbishment of a single kitchen in Cape Town cost taxpayers R1.4 million, while replacing a curtain rail and getting rid of cockroaches at two separate Pretoria addresses were billed at R54 000 and R240 000 respectively.
These revelations are expected to add to Cyril Ramaphosa’s woes, with the president embroiled in scandals of his own despite previously being championed as a graft-busting saviour after the corruption-tainted tenure of his predecessor Jacob Zuma.
A substantial amount was spent on installing, repairing and refilling power generators to keep the lights on at ministers’ homes amid a worsening energy crisis, while most of the rest of the nation was left in the dark for up to 12 hours a day.
The maintenance of swimming pools also featured prominently, with 388 invoices filed over the period taken into consideration in what the DA said was ‘the single most common maintenance expense’.
These disclosures, made in response to a parliamentary question from the DA, prompted Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Sihle Zikalala to order an investigation, saying some costs were ‘not justifiable’ and smacked of ‘mischief’.
However, the minister attempted to shield his cabinet colleagues from blame when his office accused ‘service providers’ of using the government as a ‘milking cow’.
‘As government we are not prepared to defend the indefensible but we will exercise our strong oversight to clean up this area, which is unfairly discrediting public officials,’ Zikalala said Saturday.
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Ministers’ mansions worth over R967m while R2.6m spent on generators
Picture: Pexels / Roger Brown