NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
FOR WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION 2014
DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 05/08/2011
(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 21 OF 2011)

Mr M J Ellis (DA) to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training:

(a) At how many (i) international and (ii) domestic hotels/guest houses were (aa) he and (bb) his Deputy Minister accommodated during the period 1 April 2009 up to the latest specified date for which information is available and (b) what (i) was the (aa) name, (bb) star rating and (cc) city location of each specified establishment, (ii) was the (aa) duration and (bb) purpose of the stay in each case and (iii)(aa) was the total cost of the accommodation and (bb) is the breakdown of the accommodation cost in each case?   

NW2260E

REPLY:

The Minister and Deputy Minister may use hotels when travelling for official purposes at the expense of their Departments. Official use of hotels includes, amongst others trips from Pretoria to Cape Town for Parliamentary Sittings and appearances, as well as international trips, which require Ministers to execute official duties.

All hotel bookings are used for official duty and this is an enabling factor for Public Participation Programmes of Ministers who have to meet demanding schedules.

Ministers may use three to five star hotels for official purposes and for reasons, including, if the facilities of other hotels are not cost-effective and / or readily available, in a specific instance.

The Ministry (and its support staff) is responsible for determining the cost-effectiveness of all trips including hotel bookings carried out by Minister and Deputy Minister and ensure that the intended journeys meet the requirements of relevant guidelines.

(i) The following information pertains to use of international hotels for the 2009/10 and 2010/11 financial years.

(aa) The Minister was accommodated in 14 international hotels for 14 times

(bb) The Deputy Minister was accommodated in 2 in international hotels for 2 times

(ii) The following pertains to use of local hotels for the 2009/10 and 2010/11 financial years

(aa) The Minister was accommodated in seventeen (17) local hotels/guest houses for 38 times

(bb) The Deputy Minister was accommodated in 11 local hotels/guest houses for 14 times

(b) (i) (aa) (bb) and (cc)

The details requested by the honourable member cannot be provided for security reasons. The purpose and star of the hotel is as indicated in paragraphs 1-4 above.

(iii) (aa) The total cost of the accommodation at local and international hotels for the Minister and Deputy Minister was R571,883.00

Issued by Parliament, November 8 2011

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