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Cape Town - Houses bought to accommodate ministers and
deputy ministers following President Jacob Zuma's 2009 Cabinet reshuffle cost
taxpayers more than R180m, according to a written reply to a parliamentary
question, tabled on Monday.
The reply, by Public Works Minister Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde,
reveals that her department spent R183,886,837 on a total of 34 houses in
Pretoria and Cape Town for ministers and their deputies over the past two
years.
"(In) Pretoria, 15 houses were purchased by the
department since 2009 to date; in Waterkloof and Moreleta (Pretoria East). The
total amount for all purchased properties is R68 195 116.
"(In) Cape Town, 19 houses were purchased by the
department since 2009 to date... The total amount for all purchased properties
is R115 691 721," she said.
Dividing the total amount spent by the number of houses
gives an average price of R5.4m per dwelling.
The parliamentary question, posed by Democratic Alliance MP
Erik Marais, asked, among other things, for the "total purchase price in
rands of each specified house purchased" for the additional ministers and
deputy ministers.
In her reply, Mahlangu-Nkabinde gave totals for only the two cities.
