OWN CORRESPONDENT, Durban | Sunday
KWAZULU-Natal’s Social Welfare and Population Development MEC Prince Gideon Zulu spent almost a third of the year between November 1999 and November 2000 at suites in Durban’s plush Royal Hotel, according to a report in the Sunday Times.
Zulu’s representative, Mike Gumede, confirmed the figures were correct. He said Zulu had to stay away from his homes in Ulundi and Nongoma in northern KwaZulu-Natal, due to “operational arrangements”.
Zulu has justified his extensive stays in the luxury hotel, saying they formed part of his “poverty alleviation” duties.
In a written response to a parliamentary question from the Democratic Alliance’s Mark Louw, Zulu’s office said: “The Department of Social Welfare is charged with the task of alleviating poverty in the province. This therefore necessitates movement from head office in Ulundi to all corners of the province, meeting and marketing products of the department, for example, the new child support grant.”
Last May, Zulu, the uncle of Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini, spent 19 successive nights at the hotel.
Last September, he checked in on Sunday 3 and stayed for five nights. He returned the following Sunday and spent four nights in a suite. He then went home for one night and returned the following day. He stayed another five nights until Tuesday, September 19. On the same Tuesday, he checked in again and stayed another five nights – at R1_050 a night, reports the newspaper.
The hotel bill for Zulu and four of his staff members, who often accompany him, totalled R431_865.74 for the 12-month period.
During this time, Zulu spent six nights at the five-star Beverly Hills Sun Hotel in Umhlanga Rocks, north of Durban. The cost of a suite there is R2_450 a night.
While Zulu has been running up huge hotel bills, he has not paid the R2_000-a-month rental for his official Ulundi residence since 1994.
The letter of reply from Zulu’s office also says that when the legislature and Cabinet meet in Pietermaritzburg, the province’s joint capital, Zulu is accommodated in Durban “for security reasons”.
In response to Louw’s request for a breakdown of accommodation, room service, meal and telephone costs on the hotel bills, the ministry said: “In view of security limitations, the minister is not in the position to supply more details.”
Gumede said Zulu was “at high risk” due to his status as a minister and member of the Zulu royal family. “He has received a number of death threats and this is why his security arrangements are always tight.”
The DA’s Belinda Scott said the details of Zulu’s hotel bills would be sent to Public Protector Selby Baqwa, who is investigating the spending patterns of the 11-member KwaZulu-Natal executive.
Documentation already sent to Baqwa includes the flight schedules of Premier Lionel Mtshali, who commutes to work by Learjet, and the security costs of the Cabinet.
Last year’s Auditor-General’s report found that Works MEC Celani Mtetwa notched up hotel bills of R322_000 from June 1999 to November last year.
The taxpayer also coughs up R2_330.20 a month for domestic work and R3_066.61 a month for landscaping and gardening at each of the MEC’s houses in Ulundi.