By Charmaine Ndlela
The EFF is demanding a forensic investigation into a R110 million lease agreement between the Department of Defence and Military Veterans (DoD) and the St George’s Hotel management in Pretoria.
The party expressed outrage at revelations that the cash-strapped department spent nearly R110 million on the hotel in just two years.
The St George’s Hotel, which closed in February, was historically used for ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings.
It has reportedly now been leased to house the SA National Defence College and the War College.
According to the Department, the lease was motivated by the need for a suitable facility to accommodate the Defence and War Colleges.
But the EFF’s spokesperson on defence Carl Niehaus dismissed this explanation, calling the deal “a clear case of ANC-orchestrated corruption and looting of public funds.”
“This is criminal wasteful expenditure and a blatant abuse of public resources at a time when the SANDF is grappling with severe financial constraints and operational crises,” Niehaus said.
He further accused the department of using the lease to “bail out the ANC from its own financial mismanagement.”
“For years, the St George’s Hotel has been a cosy haven for the ANC elite, hosting NEC meetings, policy conferences, and lekgotlas. It is no secret that the ANC accumulated millions in arrears at this very venue, turning it into a symbol of the party’s extravagant and unaccountable lifestyle,” he added.
The EFF alleges the lease was effectively a quid pro quo arrangement, with the Department’s payments settling the ANC’s debt to the hotel owners while funnelling taxpayer money into private pockets.
“This is not governance; it is looting disguised as a lease,” the party said in its statement.
Niehaus noted that the lease funds were drawn from the defence estate budget and managed through cash flow, rather than through a specific allocation.
Typically, such payments would be processed by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI).
The EFF has called on the Hawks to launch an urgent criminal probe, warning that the matter may constitute corruption under the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act.
“No one is above accountability, and the era of impunity for the ANC’s cronies must end now,” the party said.
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