Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa has run up a five star hotel bill of more than R500 000 in five months in his home town of Durban, it has been established.
The Sunday Independent can reveal today that between December 19 and April 25, Mthethwa was intermittently booked into the luxurious Hilton Hotel along with members of the VIP Protection Unit at a cost of R578 499.
The Sunday Independent is in possession of his bill, which shows the names of the bodyguards he was with, on which dates he was at the hotel and for how long.
The bill reveals that Mthethwa spent Christmas and New Year at the luxurious hotel. During this uninterrupted 17-day stay from December 19, he was not accompanied by any guards and the bill amounted to R86 180.
Mthethwa was booked into the same hotel on the night before Valentine's Day, this time with four VIP protection guards - costing R38 516 in two days.
From April 19 to 25, Mthethwa and two guards stayed there at a cost of R89 007.
The Hilton bill is double what Mthethwa cost taxpayers during his stay at a five star hotel in Cape Town while his house was renovated earlier this year.
Mthethwa sought to justify the Hilton bill yesterday, saying he was doing government work, but not explaining why this required him to stay at one of the most expensive hotels in Durban.
His attempt at justifying this bill is surprising. When he was confronted three weeks ago over the R234 000 bill for his stay at the luxurious Table Bay Hotel, he said he did not know that a five star hotel cost that much.
"As soon as the issue of the hotel costs was brought to the attention of the minister, he instructed a senior official to conduct a full investigation into the matter," Mthethwa's spokesman, Zweli Mnisi, said at the time.
A source told The Sunday Independent that it was one thing to talk about creating a better life for all and another to live it up at five star hotels and buy expensive cars.
"This is the worst show of insensitivity to the poor - especially in this economic climate. You can't live large like Mthethwa and also tell us to tighten our belts as (Reserve Bank Governor) Tito Mboweni has been doing and expect us to accept your bona fides. This is sheer hypocrisy.
"The point is not that Mthethwa must be booked in a two star lodge, but there are decent hotels that do not cost half what five star hotels charge," said the source.
When The Sunday Independent sought comment from Mnisi yesterday, he decided to release a statement to all media, saying the bill was the result of the minister's crime-fighting roadshow.
"All these were official programmes aimed at engaging local stakeholders in the fight against crime, which included consultation with local authorities as part of preparation for the elections.
"The programme entailed conducting roadshows, meeting with the local stakeholders involved in the crime fighting initiatives. These included communities, local policing structures, leaders of political parties as well as traditional leaders. These roadshows would, at times, be conducted with other national and provincial government leaders who form part of the government's security cluster."
The DA and Cope reacted with shock yesterday, asking why communities protesting over poor service delivery in Sakhile, Diepsloot and other places had to accept that the government had limited resources, while Mthethwa seemed to be on a five-star hotel splurge.
DA leader Helen Zille said: "If that is correct, it certainly seems a grossly excessive amount to spend on hotel bills. There is a culture developing that people can do what they like with taxpayers' money and that culture must change. We have to spend money for the right things, and not status symbols for some".
COPE first deputy president Mbhazima Shilowa said the "thought was inescapable that he either was campaigning for the ANC or simply went home and billed the government".
Shilowa said this gave lie to his explanation that he did not know that the Table Bay Hotel was expensive and appeared to cement a view that he had a "cavalier attitude towards taxpayers' money".
The South African economy shed about 300 000 jobs in the last quarter of 2008 and another ' 000 in the first quarter of this year, according to Statistics SA. "Even in the throes of a recession, he showed he had no compassion for the poor," added Shilowa.
Shilowa said all those being told to lower their expectations because the government's resources were finite couldn't help but wonder why resources were not limited when it came to five star hotels and luxury cars for ministers.
Cosatu has spoken out against overindulgence, saying ministers who bought themselves expensive cars should return them.
"If ministers are allowed to purchase expensive cars at taxpayers' expense, it gives an impression that they do not care about the message this opulence gives to the poor. Spending so much money on vehicles is a slap in the face of the unemployed and people living in shantytowns. It gives politics a bad name and encourages the view that government office is a stepping stone to quick and easy personal wealth," it has said.