Mthatha - Some of the police houses built for President Jacob Zuma's bodyguards are going unused while they stay in guesthouses 70 kilometres away, the City Press reported on Sunday.
According to an investigation by the publication, the 14 houses cost nearly R12 million to build.
This was so that the bodyguards could be as close to the president as possible because of the high level of security threats in the remote area, which had a history of political violence.
The Presidential Protection Unit (PPU) was reportedly using three-star guesthouses in Eshowe.
“It's been an open secret all along that the president's bodyguards have been staying in town,” a guesthouse owner reportedly told City Press.
Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi was quoted in October 2012 as saying security forces needed to be accommodated on the premises “as a 24/7/365 service”.
“To base them themselves at the nearest town, Eshowe, was impractical. Parking for security vehicles would also be needed,” he said at the time.
Although the use of guesthouses by the PPU had decreased, it was still continuing, City Press said.
Sapa