Depending on who in government you believe, spending millions of rand on renovations to presidential homes and offices is either:
l A monumental waste of money that has been stopped in its tracks;
l A simple misunderstanding about the figures involved;
l A dastardly attempt to undermine the dignity of the president; or
l A justifiable expense to keep the president in a manner befitting such high office.
Since information emerged this week that the government planned to spend about R400 million upgrading presidential facilities, officials have lurched from one fumble to another as the Presidency, government communicators and the Public Works Department contradicted one another at every turn.
The saga began when the Public Works Ministry responded to a set of three parliamentary questions from DA parliamentary leader Athol Trollip, dated between March and April this year, about the costs involved in previously announced upgrades to the president’s official residences and offices. These include Mahlamba Ndlopfu in Pretoria and Genadendal in Cape Town, and offices within the Bryntirion Estate and at Tuynhuys in Cape Town.
The written parliamentary answers, issued in the name of Public Works Minister Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde, whose department is responsible for all government accommodation, revealed the following costs:
l Bryntirion Estate – R192.7m, including new security gates and a dog unit (R39m), boundary fences (R61.7m), electrical reticulation (R22m), a generator room and substation (R15m) and a new road (R55m) within this presidential and ministerial complex. “It must be noted that the above estimated costs have been checked and verified by our departmental professional team prior to approval,” the ministry emphasised in its reply;
l Mahlamba Ndlopfu – R168.7m for interior refurbishments alone. And while no cost estimate was provided for other renovations, the minister said these would include upgrades to security, fire detection, “danger warning” systems and “escape routes”, a new surveillance system, the construction of a “sauna/steam room” and the restoration of various historic elements to their original condition, as per SA Heritage Resource Authority guidelines.
l Tuynhuys – R24.4m, including furniture (R778 000); and,
l Genadendal – R13.5m.
No sooner had the media reported this information – provided by the government itself – than cabinet spokesman and chief government spin-doctor Jimmy Manyi accused the media of trying to “undermine the dignity and relentless work ethic of this administration”.
“Government rejects suggestions that renovations to official residences and offices of the president of the Republic of South Africa are an extravagance or that they compromise social delivery,” Manyi’s opening salvo exclaimed. “The work to be undertaken on a range of official properties will be done in the same way that government attends to other programmes. This work is being done within our means and at properties – inherited by the democratic dispensation – that are of historical significance and whose upkeep attracts expenses of the kind indicated by the Minister of Public Works.”
Manyi went on to stress that the renovations would enable President Jacob Zuma – and future presidents – to work “in conditions of efficiency, security and the relative comfort that befits the highest office in the country”.
“It will also enable South Africa to return the support and hospitality that is extended to our government when we engage with counterparts all around the world,” he further explained.
This view was echoed on Thursday by the ANC, which said the party was “unhappy with the manner in which the media has responded to the report of (Mahlangu-Nkabinde) to Parliament”.
“The media reports try to criminalise the upkeep of public assets as if it is not an inherent responsibility for Public Works… It is not in the interests of South Africa for the president to be subjected to undue criticism when we subscribe to dominant practices the world over,” the ANC added in support of its claim that the government was simply doing what governments do.
“It will be a sad thing if the media and the opposition want to suggest that the security of a sitting president and his wellbeing are of no consequence to the country,” the ANC added.
Also on Thursday, Public Works acting director-general, Mandla Mabuza, spoke out about the “utter nonsense” reported by the media, saying he found it “very absurd and ridiculous that some journalist published a grossly and factually inaccurate report” on the presidential refurbishments. And, seemingly oblivious to the contradiction, he announced that an investigation would be launched to determine which one of his officials had provided Parliament and the media with “wrong information”.
On the same day, Mabuza’s boss (Mahlangu-Nkabinde), who is having an annus horribilis, denied that any money had been spent on these projects. She insisted she had put a stop to it in March. The renovation projects are understood to have been approved before Mahlangu-Nkabinde took over this portfolio. “No work has been undertaken, no taxpayers’ money has been spent. In March this year, when I learned about the proposed cost of the refurbishment, I said it was too high and ordered that it not go ahead,” she said.
Uncomfortable questions were asked in March after news reports that the government was shopping around for artwork, Persian rugs and gold cutlery for a multi-million rand VIP home at the Bryntirion Estate “earmarked for the deputy president”. Reports also revealed that R62m had been set aside for a “Presidential Medical Unit” at the estate.
“Yes, I do understand that there’s an outcry over exorbitant figures, and I agree… If there is a carpet that is going to be refurbished, surely you don’t have to go out on tender for that, you just have to fix it,” Mahlangu-Nkabinde said, after a public backlash over the reported costs.
Once again, these reports were based on official government information. But then the minister muddied the waters this week by adding this disclaimer: “My officials assure me that while it is true that the presidential residence is due to be refurbished, they have not finalised any contracts… I can assure South Africa that any expenditure on the refurbishment will be in line with normal building costs.”
The true state of affairs remains unclear. Perhaps, once all the officials have been investigated and the ministers, directors-general and government spin-doctors have got their ducks in a row, it will all become as crystal clear as the chandelier suspended from the presidential ceiling at Bryntirion. - Pretoria News Weekend