Minister orders probe into R37m hotel bill
Correctional Services Minister Pieter Groenewald has ordered Commissioner Makgothi Thobakgale to institute an audit into the R37m spent on hotel accommodation for dozens of officials over the past five years.
The Mercury reports this comes after it emerged that the department spent R8.2m on hotel accommodation for four officials who were transferred from the department’s head office to the Eastern Cape between 2021 to date.
This was brought to light by DA MP Janho Engelbrecht when he quizzed Groenewald on why the department opted to accommodate the officials in hotels instead of utilising available state housing in prison complexes.
In his written response, Groenewald said the deployment of the affected officials was initiated by the national office to address ‘pressing operational crises’ in the Eastern Cape region at that time. He said one of the officials was appointed as the Eastern Cape Acting Regional Commissioner from May 2021 to March 2024.
‘It should also be noted that before his appointment, the official was the chief security officer at head office, Pretoria, and for that reason the transfer to the Eastern Cape was intended as temporary.’
Groenewald also said another official was appointed as St Albans Acting Area Commissioner from April 2021 to date when the management area experienced instability that was characterised by violent security incidents.
‘Management deemed it fit to deploy the official as he is a seasoned director to stabilise the management area.’
A third official was responsible for establishing management operation committee structures and the training of compliance officers.
Another official was transferred to be responsible for IT systems in both the Mthatha and St Albans management areas between April 2021 and January 2024.
Groenewald said the temporary transfers were at state cost and initiated by the department.
‘The officials qualified for benefits applicable to a temporary transfer as per prescribed guidelines, which provide for interim accommodation for three months, which can be extended.’
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
