The content on this page is not written by Polity.org.za, but is supplied by third parties. This content does not constitute news reporting by Polity.org.za.

Yesterday, the Minister of Transport, S’bu Ndebele, issued a statement saying that the accounts about his lavish hotel stays “are a malicious lie.” This marks a change from his earlier excuses that the information provided by his department – which he signed off on and released to the public – is incorrect and that the Department of Public Works is to blame because it failed to provide him with an official residence when he took office. The problem with these equivocations is that it is impossible to know what to believe.

However, it is impossible to dispute that the Minister has chosen to stay at luxurious 5-Star hotels virtually every time he travels. The list of hotels he has enjoyed since taking office in 2009 is synonymous with opulence and extravagance, such as the Ritz-Carlton Hotels (in London and Shanghai), the Radisson Blu Hotel in Port Elizabeth, the Michelangelo Towers in Johannesburg, the Cape Grace in Cape Town, and the Sheraton Hotel in Pretoria. The Minister protests that he’s not a big spender, but his choice of hotels suggests otherwise.

The Minister's reply also shows that he stayed at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Johannesburg for 25 nights (14 Sept 2010 – 9 Oct 2010) at a cost of R190,333, of which R69,984 was for a chauffeur-driven car. Now he has countered that was actually in Canada during this period staying for 11 nights at a Hyatt while attending a meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

If this is so, then why doesn't the reply reflect this? The reply does refer to an 11-night stay for R88,540 (R8,049 per night) from 2-13 July 2011, paid to Expostay.com, but these dates do not conflict with those of the 25-night stay from last year that he disputes.

If the Minister has signed off on an incorrect parliamentary reply, then he must clarify what the actual expenditure is immediately. He must also show it through an itemised breakdown, not just sum totals.

Today I will be writing further questions to the Minister to ask him when he moved into his official residences in Cape Town and Pretoria. I will also ask where he stayed while awaiting official accommodation, because he does not list the kind of long-term stays that would suggest he was without an official residence. Lastly, I will ask why he always chooses to stay at luxury 5-Star hotels when he could spend the public’s money more responsibly by choosing less expensive options. If he fails to respond, we will rely on the Public Protector to find out this information so that we can finally get clarity on the Minister’s wasteful expenditure.