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In a statement released by Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Tina Joemat-Pettersson, in response to the public outcry about her R1.6 million hotel bill, the Minister stated that “ever since I was allocated official accommodation in Pretoria I have never stayed in a hotel.”

However, information contained in a parliamentary reply sent to the DA indicates that, since moving into her official accommodation in August 2010, the Minister has stayed at the 5-Star Sheraton Pretoria Hotel & Towers three times:

• On 4 April 2011 at a cost of R2,500
• On 5 April 2011 for R5,659
• On 13 May 2011 for R2,745

The Minister must explain herself.

Was this information also part of the “incorrect” information the Minister alleges was supplied to her office by officials in her department?

Or did the Minister, in her haste to try and explain her Shiceka-size hotel bill, simply forget about her three jaunts at the Sheraton?

I have submitted a series of questions to the Minister regarding her long list of lavish hotel stays. The Minister must provide Parliament and the South African public with a full explanation for the numerous contradictions that have emanated from her office about her hotel bills. If the information supplied by her office to Parliament was incorrect, the Minister must explain why she signed off on this material, and provide the facts.