Jaspreet Kindra
Democratic Alliance members want to assassinate KwaZulu-Natal’s ministers, MEC for Transport S’bu Ndebele told an amazed legislature in Pietermaritzburg on Wednesday.
Ndebele was explaining why no answers could be provided to questions asked in the House about the costs of ministers’ security, transport and accommodation.
He claimed the DA’s co-leaders, Marthinus van Schalkwyk and Tony Leon, had worked for the former National Intelligence Service and the South African Defence Force respectively. And this was why the DA was asking these questions it was a plot to assassinate their political opponents.
Ndebele’s comments came amid revelations that MEC for Public Works Celani Mtetwa and his entourage of bodyguards and personal assistants had amassed huge five-star hotel bills in Durban while attending sittings of the legislature in Pietermaritzburg.
Ulundi-based Mtetwa said in answer to a question on his hotel bills posed by DA MPL Mark Lowe that there was a scarcity of hotels in Pietermaritzburg, which is why “MECs are forced to book into hotels in Durban”.
Pietermaritzburg is the capital of KwaZulu-Natal and has two upmarket hotels and a number of inns located in its plush suburbs.
Mtetwa and his entourage spent R263?187 on hotels such as the Royal, Hilton and the Beverly Hills in Umhlanga Rocks from June 1999 to May last year. In the six months that followed, Mtetwa’s hotel bills amounted to almost R60?000.
Last year the province’s auditor general, Barry Wheeler, raised concerns over Mtetwa’s “excessive expenditure”, which had exceeded the daily rate policy that limits the cost of accommodation to R300 a day unless prior approval has been obtained.
A day in the executive suite of the Royal hotel costs more than R900. The hotel bill records tabled in the legislature this week showed stays of up to five days at the Royal.
Wheeler’s report for 1998/99 revealed room service bills for the minister’s driver and bodyguards running into thousands of rands.
Mtetwa’s representative, Bongani Ngubane, criticised the singling out of his minister, saying that the query on hotel expenses was directed to all the ministers. The DA said it was still awaiting a response from the other ministers.
At an executive board meeting of the legislature this week some ministers had raised objections to being made to answer queries on security and accommodation.
In reply to a question posed by DA whip Belinda Scott, it was also revealed that more than R2-million had been spent on upgrading Premier Lionel Mtshali’s security.
Lowe said his party had posed questions in the legislature on the amount of money that was being spent on the ministers’ security “because the taxpayers have a right to know”.
He said Ndebele’s response was a “pathetic” indication of reluctance on the part of the ministers to be accountable to the legislature and the taxpayer.
Attempts to contact Ndebele or the African National Congress for comment were unsuccessful.