Correctional Services Minister Pieter Groenewald has ordered commissioner Makgothi Thobakgale to institute an audit into the R37 million spent on hotel accommodation for dozens of officials over the past five years.
This comes after it emerged that the department spent a whopping 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.
Engelbrecht also enquired whether the department had conducted a detailed cost-benefit analysis to compare the costs of furnishing state houses and relocating officials versus accommodating them in hotels for extended periods.
He also asked to be provided with full details of all officials who have been accommodated in hotels, bed and breakfast facilities and any other privately owned accommodation facility at a cost to the department since 2019 and the amount spent on each official for the entire period.
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, amongst others.
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.”
Groenewald said it was not feasible to accommodate the officials in the prison complex or state house as they were considered temporarily transferred.
“State houses are seen as a working facility for officials permanently stationed at correctional centres and therefore state housing could not always be readily available for transferred officials.
“If housing is available, it can be allocated to the transferred official in a management area depending on allocation criteria.”
Groenewald’s responses showed the breakdown of the R37 456 708 spent on officials’ hotel accommodation as follows:
- Western Cape R2,077,391;
- KwaZulu-Natal R2,378,965;
- Gauteng R420,279;
- Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West R13,853,672;
- Free State and Northern Cape R2,322,991;
- Eastern Cape R11,399,012; and
- Head Office R5,044,395.
Groenwald confirmed that the department has not conducted a cost-benefit analysis on the hotel accommodation of the officials.
“However, according to Resolution 03 of 1999 the employer may assist an employee if he must rent furnished interim accommodation at the place of work.”
He also said Thobakgale was directed to audit the information within a period of 90 days to determine if further action was required on the expenditure incurred.
“The Department will be able to provide the Honourable Member with audited figures by March 2025,” Groenewald said.
Cape Times