DA fumes as Cabinet closes ranks on hotel spending

The Democratic Alliance said it wanted Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe to intervene in what it calls a “Cabinet-level cover-up” of wasteful hotel expenditure.

“We will write to Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe requesting him to intervene and force ministers to be accountable and reply to the parliamentary questions on the names, star rating, location and costs of ministerial accommodation in hotels and guest houses between 2009 and 2011,” DA MP David Maynier said in a statement on Sunday.

This follows government spokesperson Jimmy Manyi’s assertion that it would be dangerous for ministers to answer the opposition’s parliamentary questions about their use of hotels because the information could be used by criminals to “ambush” them.

Maynier said Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa refused to reply to the parliamentary question as “it deals with matters that may negatively impact on my personal security and operations of the department”.

Maynier said other ministers were now following suit.

Public Service and Administration Minister Richard Baloyi’s office recently replied to questions that “no detailed breakdown of payments will be made available”.

Maynier said this was “a coordinated Cabinet-level cover-up of details concerning ministerial accommodation in what seems to be a desperate attempt to hide excessive expenditure and wasteful expenditure on accommodation in luxury hotels and guest houses”.

“The fact is that there is no risk to the personal security of ministers because the parliamentary questions apply retrospectively. How is it possible that disclosing the fact that a minister spent 10 days at a luxury hotel two years ago could possibly endanger a minister’s personal security?” he said.

Maynier said the DA would submit follow-up questions probing whether the ministers refusals were based on objective information, including a threat assessment by the police.