The Democratic Alliance (DA) has revealed that the collective value of the mansions occupied by ANC Ministers and Deputy Ministers in Cape Town and Pretoria is an astonishing R967 million. This information has been made public for the first time following a parliamentary question submitted by the DA to the Minister of Public Works in the ANC Cabinet, Patricia de Lille.
De Lille’s reply revealed that no less than 97 mansions are currently occupied by ANC Ministers and Deputy Ministers in Cape Town and Pretoria. On average, each ministerial house is valued at nearly R10 million, which means that every ANC Minister and Deputy Minister currently lives in two mansions (one in Cape Town and one in Pretoria) valued at a collective R20 million – all courtesy of South African taxpayers.
Cabinet cadres are entitled to these houses in terms of the Ministerial Handbook, which also provides them with additional freebies that include four luxury vehicles each, VIP protection and international travel perks. And in an effort to protect these ANC cadres from the electricity crisis they have been implicated in, Ministers and Deputy Ministers also receive free water and electricity (up to R5 000 per month).
The DA is taking steps to address this abuse, filing a complaint with the Public Protector to investigate the legality of the perks provided to cadres in terms of the Ministerial Handbook and introducing an amendment to the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers Act that would make the Handbook subject to full Parliamentary oversight.
It is simply unacceptable that President Cyril Ramaphosa is using taxpayers’ funds to finance perks for an ANC Cabinet that has plunged our country into stage 6 load-shedding and economic devastation while they live in mansions worth nearly R1 billion. The DA will not rest until this abuse is brought to an end.
Tags: ANC Andre de Ruyter DA