Transport minister 'endured 25 days in luxury hotel'

02 Nov 2011 07:56 - Staff Reporter

S'bu Ndebele stayed in a posh hotel for 25 days last year, at a cost of R190k, his department admits. But that can't be right, says his spokesperson.

Transport Minister S’bu Ndebele stayed in a Johannesburg hotel for 25 days last year, at a cost of R190 000, according to a report on Wednesday.

Beeld newspaper was quoting from a reply by the transport department to a question in Parliament, but the department’s spokesperson, Tiyani Rikhotso, said the information was incorrect.

The reply in Parliament said he had stayed at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Johannesburg between September and October last year for 25 days.

It had cost R190 000, including chauffeur services worth R70 000.

But Rikhotso told the Afrikaans daily that the minister did not use chauffeur services when he was in South Africa.

“All I can think is that the information given to Parliament was incorrect.”

He said the minister would not say in a hotel if any of his two official residences, in Pretoria and Cape Town, were available.

Last week, Agriculture Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson defended her use of hotel accommodation in 2009, saying she “initially stayed in a hotel before moving to guest houses when it became apparent that DPW [the department of public works] was in no rush to provide her with a house in Pretoria”.—Sapa

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