Opposition party leaders want to know exactly how much money communications minister Siphiwe Nyanda has spent on hotels in the Cape.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) submitted a question to Parliament on Friday, following media allegations that the minister has been staying in luxury hotels in Cape Town, instead of living in his official residence, while attending to government business in the province.
Reports indicate Nyanda has been staying at the Mount Nelson and the Twelve Apostles, where rooms reportedly cost between R4 000 and R11 095 a night. In response, the Department of Communications (DOC) said Nyanda's official residence was not fit for living.
“This allegation is the latest in a series of acts of frivolous expenditure at the hands of ANC government ministers,” says DA national spokesperson Lindiwe Mazibuko.
It is not the first time Nyanda has been accused of over-spending.
More recently, the minister was lambasted for his business interests, which reportedly gained from tenders without proper process. One incident saw his company, General Nyanda Security Risk Advisory Services, awarded a R55 million contract by suspended Transnet Freight Rail CEO Siyabonga Gama.
The DA hopes to see a response from the DOC soon. “The South African public cannot be expected to continue footing the bill for the ANC government's taste for big spending - particularly while millions of our people continue to live in abject poverty,” says Mazibuko.
The DOC was unavailable for comment this morning.
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