No excuse: Minister's self-pampering at fancy hotels with public funds a slap in the face to the poor
The Democratic Alliance (DA) rejects the lame excuses made by Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries,Tina Joemat-Pettersson, for why she racked up more than R1,5 million for luxury hotel stays since taking office in 2009. Frankly, there is no excuse for abusing public funds for the sake of personal comfort. It's a slap in the face to the poor and it violates the Executive Ethics Act and the Constitution.
The Minister yesterday said that she could not help spending so much money on 4-star and 5-star hotels because she did not have an official ministerial residence in Pretoria for more than a year, while the Cape Town one she described as "sub-standard." This is an indictment not only of the Department of Public Works, which is responsible for procuring residences for ministers, but also of the Minister herself who failed to find a cheaper way to deal with a temporary inconvenience.
In the first 9 months of her tenure, the Minister spent more than R900,000 on hotel stays, some R100,000 per month, or R3,336 per day. That is an insult to all the poor people who struggle to make ends meet in our country. (See the parliamentary replyshe gave in response to a DA question for more information.) If she had some foresight and care for the public's money, she would have looked for houses to rent in Pretoria and Cape Town so as to save money. By simply renting two houses, at say R15,000 per month each, she would have only spent R300,000 during those first 9 months, which would have saved South Africans R600,000.
People are tired of Ministers using temporary inconveniences, like housing renovations, as a pretext for wasting public funds. The Public Protector has set a powerful precedent by investigating former Minister Sicelo Shiceka for his extravagant hotel stays and finding him guilty of contravening the Executive Ethics Act and the Constitution. I believe that Minister Joemat-Pettersson has abrogated these same laws and should be held responsible for her obscene actions.
I have therefore written to the Public Protector requesting that she investigate the Minister in this matter; please see the letter I sent below.
Text of the letter to the Public Protector:
Office of the Public Protector
Private Bag X677
Pretoria
0001
25 October 2011
Re: Request for an investigation into breaches of the Executive Ethics Code and the Constitution by the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
Dear Adv. Madonsela
In reply to a parliamentary question that the Democratic Alliance asked to the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Tina Joemat-Pettersson, the Minister revealed that she has spent R1,584,817.86 on domestic hotel accommodation since taking office in May 2009.
The Minister claims that she has spent so much money on hotels because she did not have an official ministerial residence when she took office in May 2009. Thus, for the first 9 months of her tenure, until the end of February 2010, she stayed at 4- and 5-Star hotels virtually every night. The total costs of her hotel stays during these 9 months was R900,795, or R100,000 per month, or R3,336 per day.
This is a reckless use of public funds. The Minister had many other cheaper options, such as renting houses for long-term stays in Pretoria and Cape Town, or insisting on cheaper 3-Star hotel accommodation whenever she travelled.
But instead, for instance, she stayed at the 5-Star Peermont D'Oreale Grande Emperors Palace in Johannesburg from 16 September 2009 to 21 October 2009 (35 days), spending R289,352 for the privilege. That equals R8,267 per night. Later, from 13 June 2010 to 11 July 2010 (28 days), she spent R420,000 at a Johannesburg establishment - which is strangely listed as Pure One Toys CC. That equals R15,000 per night.
I believe that the Minister's insistence on staying at luxurious hotels - both before and after she moved into her official ministerial residence - constitutes a breach of paragraph 2.3 of the Executive Ethics Code and section 96(2) of the Constitution. My understanding of this comes from the precedent you set in your report on former Minister Sicelo Shiceka's conduct, in which you stated:
"By staying in one of the most expensive hotels during his official visits to Cape Town, repeatedly, before and after an official residence was allocated to him, and without requesting his Private Office to take steps to ensure that the expenditure incurred by the Department is reasonable and justifiable in terms of his responsibility to act in good faith and with integrity, Mr. Shiceka violated the provisions of paragraph 2.3 of the Executive Ethics Code and section 96(2) of the Constitution."
According to paragraph 2.3 of Executive Ethics Code, a Minister must "at all times to act in good faith and in the best interest of good governance."
I believe that the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has failed to act in good faith by repeatedly staying at 5-Star hotels, often for great lengths of time, and at great expense. She has done this both prior to and after receiving her ministerial residence.
According to section 96(2) of the Constitution, "Members of the Cabinet and Deputy Ministers may not act in any way that is inconsistent with their office."
I believe that the Minister has acted inconsistently with the financial prudence required of her position, especially regarding matters of expenditure on personal comfort.
The Minister claims that her high level of hotel expenditure can be explained by the lack of a ministerial residence, but she could have rented houses in Pretoria and Cape Town - for, say, R15,000 per month each - while her ministerial residences were being procured. That would have cost only R300,000 for those first nine months, not the R900,000 she incurred.
Moreover, the Minister has stayed in Pretoria hotels even after receiving her official residence in the capital. She has also continued to enjoy 5-Star hotels across the country. And she has double- and triple-booked hotels on literally dozens of occasions, as revealed in her parliamentary reply which I have attached to this correspondence.
Your office has the necessary powers and mandate to investigate this matter. I believe this breach of law is a serious offence that must be investigated and resolved, as your office has done in the past. Thank you.
Yours sincerely
Dr. Lourie Bosman, MP
Shadow Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
Statement issued by Dr. Lourie Bosman, MP, DA Shadow Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, October 26 2011
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