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According to a parliamentary reply received today by the Democratic Alliance (DA), Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Tina Joemat-Pettersson has spent R1,6 million on hotel accommodation since April 2009.

That equals over R1700 for each day that the minister has been in office. Or, 28 RDP houses worth.

The Minister is giving serial luxury hotel user Sicelo Shiceka a serious run for his money.

The Minister’s reply revealed numerous long stays at hotels, bookings at 5-star hotels, a high number of double-bookings (meaning that two different hotels were booked and paid for, for the same night) and a number of stays at hotels in Pretoria, despite the fact that the Minister should have an official residence there.

Details of the Minister’s hotel stays include the following:

Long stays
• 36 days, costing R135 000, at the Vineyard Hotel and Spa in Cape Town – July/August 2009
• 36 days, costing R290 000, at the Peermont D’Oreal Grande Emperor’s Palace JHB – Sept/October 2009
• 28 days, costing R420 000, at the Pure Toys One CC – June/July 2010

Expensive stays
• R15 000 at the Intercontinental at OR Tambo International – 1 day – January 2010
• R24 000 at the Hydro Executive Apartments Johannesburg – 4 days – June 2010
• R10 620 at the Intercontinental Johannesburg International – 1 day – April 2011

Double-booked stays
• Having paid to stay at the Vineyard Hotel in Cape Town, she stayed at the Peermont D’Oreal Grande Emperor’s Palace in JHB for 3 nights – 16-19 June 2009
• Having paid to stay at the Intercontinental at OR Tambo International, she stayed at the 5-star Table Bay Hotel in Cape Town – 12 April 2011

Pretoria stays
• Sheraton Pretoria – 3 nights – R15 000 – May 2009
• Aluane Town Lodge – 31 days – R35 910 – October 2009
• Aluane Town Lodge – 31 days – R41 000 – May-June 2009

I will today be submitting follow up questions to the Minister to find out whether she has an official residence, and, if so, how many days a year she stays there, the cost of purchasing and maintaining the residence and why, if the minister had the option of staying in her official home, she chose hotels instead.

Minister Joemat-Pettersson’s hotel bill is unjustifiable in a country where millions of South Africans live in poverty and do not have access to proper housing. Her spending habits are similar to those of many of her Cabinet colleagues, who seem intent on placing their expensive tastes above the needs of the South African people.