NOW I know why President Jacob Zuma has been kvetching loudly about the fact that civil society forced him to dump Des van Rooyen as finance minister in December. As they say in business, these two are absolutely aligned! Okay, they are not aligned, but are certainly cut from the same cloth.They like the finer things in life. Don’t tell me about tightening belts and all that rubbish finance minister Pravin Gordhan has been banging on about.Last week it emerged that government had spent R500,000 housing Van Rooyen and his family in a five-star boutique hotel in Pretoria. It is not just any old hotel, my friends. The hotel, 131 on Herbert Baker‚ serves high tea and has an exclusive restaurant that promises to “satisfy even the most discerning palate”.“Five-star expectations are surpassed time and again,” says its website.This is where Van Rooyen has been facing hardship since January 1. The public works department put him up there. These are the geniuses who spent a whopping R246m on ...
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