Minister De Lille must play open cards on her seeming mismanagement of quarantine sites
7 May 2020
Note to Editors: Please find attached Parliamentary questions here, here and here.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) calls on Public Works and Infrastructure Minister, Patricia De Lille, to play open cards on her Department’s seeming mismanagement of quarantine accommodation for South Africans who are returning home. The Department of Public Work and Infrastructure (DPWI) has forked out more than R28 million on private-owned establishments to accommodate citizens who have to be quarantined.
When Members of the Public Works Portfolio Committee asked the Minister about the process of allocating people to 4 and 5 star hotels, as opposed to Public Works sites and less expensive hotels, she defended the decision by saying that many of the Public Works sites were not suitable. However, it has now emerged that a number of repatriated citizens have in fact been accommodated at Government facilities, instead of the private-owned establishments the Department has already paid for.
De Lille stated that she is investigating a "scam" in her Department where officials have been moving passengers to unapproved sites and “pocketing” the difference between those sites and the hotels that were arranged.