Money that could have been used to build 2,000 RDP houses was spent on 34 new ministerial mansions
THE ministerial handbook used at national level permits a level of state-funded luxury for ministers that is not morally justifiable, DA parliamentary leader Athol Trollip said yesterday.
"Government spin doctor Jimmy Manyi's accusation that the DA's exposé of the government's R183 million spending spree on mansions for (cabinet) ministers was a bare-faced move to embarrass the executive, misses the point entirely," he said.
Trollip said spending money that could have been used to build 2,000 RDP houses on 34 new ministerial mansions was "just plain wrong, whatever the ministerial handbook says".
"The fact is that the ministerial handbook used at national level permits a level of state-funded luxury for ministers that is not morally justifiable," he said.
"This is precisely why the DA government in Western Cape produced its own handbook with stringent regulations to limit this kind of expenditure," Trollip said.
He said it was clear that the national ministerial handbook needed to change.
Otherwise the excuse would always be "because the handbook says we can".
Faced with a public outcry over spending on luxury cars for ministers, the government made a big noise in 2009 about amending the handbook.
Public Service and Administration Minister Richard Baloyi promised it would be done - certainly before the World Cup. In April this year, he said it would be completed "soon, very soon".
"So where is it? No amendments have been made and the spending spree continues unabated," Trollip said.
Since Baloyi promised to change the handbook, the DA calculated that R693million had been spent on luxury cars, perks for the president's spouses, and buying and decorating ministerial houses.
On Tuesday, Manyi said the government had indicated in 2009 that it planned to buy and upgrade housing for ministers, members of Parliament, and top government officials.
At the time, R150 million had been earmarked as planned spending on ministerial housing.
'Govt splashes out R693m' on its own luxury living
Money that could have been used to build 2,000 RDP houses was spent on 34 new ministerial mansions
THE ministerial handbook used at national level permits a level of state-funded luxury for ministers that is not morally justifiable, DA parliamentary leader Athol Trollip said yesterday.
"Government spin doctor Jimmy Manyi's accusation that the DA's exposé of the government's R183 million spending spree on mansions for (cabinet) ministers was a bare-faced move to embarrass the executive, misses the point entirely," he said.
Trollip said spending money that could have been used to build 2,000 RDP houses on 34 new ministerial mansions was "just plain wrong, whatever the ministerial handbook says".
"The fact is that the ministerial handbook used at national level permits a level of state-funded luxury for ministers that is not morally justifiable," he said.
"This is precisely why the DA government in Western Cape produced its own handbook with stringent regulations to limit this kind of expenditure," Trollip said.
He said it was clear that the national ministerial handbook needed to change.
Otherwise the excuse would always be "because the handbook says we can".
Faced with a public outcry over spending on luxury cars for ministers, the government made a big noise in 2009 about amending the handbook.
Public Service and Administration Minister Richard Baloyi promised it would be done - certainly before the World Cup. In April this year, he said it would be completed "soon, very soon".
"So where is it? No amendments have been made and the spending spree continues unabated," Trollip said.
Since Baloyi promised to change the handbook, the DA calculated that R693million had been spent on luxury cars, perks for the president's spouses, and buying and decorating ministerial houses.
On Tuesday, Manyi said the government had indicated in 2009 that it planned to buy and upgrade housing for ministers, members of Parliament, and top government officials.
At the time, R150 million had been earmarked as planned spending on ministerial housing.
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