Over R48 million to be spent on new ministerial mansions
In a presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Public Works, the Department of Public Works revealed that it has budgeted R48 Million to acquire 6 additional Ministerial Houses within the 2017/18 financial year.
According to the presentation, the “Land Affairs Board” has only approved 1 house at a cost of R6.750 Million. The Department is currently sourcing the remaining 5 houses.
This extravagant spending comes on the back of an admission by the Department, in a reply to a DA parliamentary question, that R20,3 million will be spent on renovation costs for the upkeep of 11 ministerial residences in Pretoria and Johannesburg.
It has become clear that the bloated executive has become a burden on the country’s overstretched public finances. In order to appease competing factions in the ANC, President Zuma has increased the size of the cabinet despite clear evidence that government can no longer afford more spending commitments.
The bloated cabinet has simply become a waste of taxpayers’ money and will only worsen the poor state of public finances.