President Jacob Zuma said there were enough reasons to take action against Cooperative Governance Minister Sicelo Shiceka following reported allegations of misuse of taxpayers’ money, the Star reported on Tuesday.
“There will be no hesitation if these things that are being said are true. Absolutely no hesitation. I said so before. There are enough reasons for action to be taken,” he was reported as saying.
The report continued with him saying: “Here there is going to be action … and we are not going to take long even to investigate [Shiceka], because these are too serious allegations made against the minister.”
Luxury hotel stay
The Sunday Times reported that Shiceka allegedly spent R355 000 on a visit to a girlfriend serving time in a Swiss jail for drugs, R640 000 over one year to stay in a luxury hotel in Cape Town, and more than R160 000 to fly family around the country over eight months.
Municipal trucks were also allegedly being used to ferry water to a house he is building in Ingquza Hill in the Eastern Cape, and a R32-million tarred road was being routed past the house while other residents did not have dirt roads to reach their villages.
The Public Protector has been asked by Parliament’s ethics committee to investigate the matter. — Sapa