DA to appeal Minister Davies' refusal to disclose details of hotel stays

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has refused to accede to a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) application by the Democratic Alliance (DA) for information on Minister Rob Davies' hotel bills. We will be appealing this decision through the appropriate channels.

Minister Davies is one of the Ministers who refused to answer parliamentary questions on his hotel stays, citing "security concerns". He has now denied the DA PAIA access on the same grounds.

This is a ridiculously arrogant excuse. We are not looking for details of the Minister's hotel stays in the future, which would be the only way his security could perhaps be compromised. We just want to know how much he spent on hotels in the past.

The only logical conclusion is that the Minister is trying to hide something; perhaps because of the fate that befell his former Cabinet colleague Shicelo Shiceka after his taste for living it up in expensive hotels was revealed. He may also have an eye on the Public Protector's ongoing investigations into the extravagant hotel bills of Ministers Tina Joemat-Pettersson and S'bu Ndebele.

Section 32(1)(a) of the Constitution provides that "everyone has the right of access to any information held by the State" but the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) cites Section 38(a) of the Promotion of Access to Information Act as the basis for their refusal to provide details on the hotel stays of its Ministers. In terms of this section, information officers "must refuse a request for access to a record of the body if its disclosure could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of an individual".

Minister Davies joins Cabinet colleagues such as Minister of Defence Lindiwe Sisulu, Minister of Energy Dipuo Peters, Minister of Labour Mildred Oliphant and Former Minister of Public Service and Administration Richard Baloyi, who all cited "security concerns" for their refusal to reply to parliamentary questions on their hotel stays.

The DA has taken a number of steps to establish the spending of government Ministers on hotels and guest houses, including:

• Submitting parliamentary questions to the Ministers in each department;
• Writing to the Speaker of Parliament, Max Sisulu, requesting that he compels ministers who have failed to reply to parliamentary questions to fulfil their obligation to transparency and accountability;
• Submitting applications for the information to all relevant departments under the Promotion of Access to Information Act.

Ministers are supposed to be responsible custodians of the public purse. They must remember that the money they spend is not theirs, it belongs to the South African people. They need to be fully accountable for how it is used.

Statement issued by Tim Harris MP, DA Shadow Minister of Trade and Industry, January 9 2012

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