The EFF is demanding a forensic investigation into a R110m lease that the department of Defence and Military Veterans (DOD) has with the St George’s hotel in Pretoria.
According to the party, the money was paid over a two-year period for a venue for the South African War College and the South African Defence College.
The EFF claimed on Tuesday that the department is not in a good financial position to spend money on leasing hotel space.
“The facts are damning. Between February 2022 and March 2023, the DOD forked out R61,704,400 for the facility. An additional R46 million followed from April 2023 to January 2024, when the lease mercifully ended.
“The department claims that maintenance, facility management, and utilities were the landlord’s responsibility, absolving itself of direct costs in those areas.
“Yet, additional payments were incurred upon termination because the DOD lacked the internal capacity to handle these functions immediately,” said EFF spokesperson Sinawo Thambo.
St George’s not an appropriate venue for training
Thambo said the hotel was not an appropriate place for the training of South African National Defence Force (SANDF) personnel.
“But let us be clear: this venue was entirely inappropriate for the needs of military education and training. A luxury hotel in Pretoria, steeped in ANC history, does not meet the specialised requirements of the South African National War College and the South African National Defence College.
“Moreover, the SANDF is in financial crisis, yet the DOD proceeds with this wasteful lease,” said Thambo.
Connection to ANC events and debt
The EFF also wants to know if there are links between the ANC, the department of Defence and the hotel owners.
“The EFF, therefore, calls for a comprehensive forensic audit into how this lease was negotiated, approved, and executed. Who were the key decision-makers? What connections exist between the hotel owners, ANC officials, and DOD personnel? The link between the ANC’s longstanding debt to St. George’s and the DOD’s exorbitant payout must be thoroughly investigated,” said Thambo.
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Spending on trips
The EFF’s complaint came hours after ActionSA lambasted the department for the amount of taxpayers money it had spent on overseas trips.
“ActionSA is outraged to reveal, through a reply to our parliamentary question, that the Ministry of Defence under Minister Angie Motshekga and her deputies have blown a staggering R20 185 410 on travel alone since taking office, jetting off to destinations like Vietnam, Cuba, Malaysia, Japan, and Turkey with no discernible justification or benefit to match the cost,” said the party’s parliamentary Chief Whip Lerato Ngobeni.
Ngobeni said the “obscene” splurge comes on top of the R282 million already spent by the government on travel since the government of national unity (GNU) came into office.
“While ministers sip champagne capitals, the state of our armed forces is deteriorating, left under-resourced, and most disgracefully. 14 of our soldiers were left for dead in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), while those who have returned have been underpaid their respective danger and related allowances,” said Ngobeni.
The Citizen has reached out to the Ministry of Defence and Military veterans for comment on this matter. Their comment will be added to this article when it is received.
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