Picture: Minister of Human Settlements, Thembisile Simelane
By AGISANANG SCUFF
13 January 2026- The Ministry of Human Settlements said it notes the media statement issued by the Action SA that the Ministry of Human Settlements has spent R32.98 million on travelling abroad. The department said all the incurred expenditure has been in line with the prescripts of cost containment measures of the National Treasury and in line or below the set caps.
The Minister of Human Settlements, Thembisile Simelane spokesperson, Tsekiso Machike said this is not Executive spending, but also administrative spending encompassing not only the previous and current Ministers, but also for the whole staff of the department incurred over a period of one and half years based on all housing projects scattered all over the country. Machike said the department is sensitive to the fiscal situation of the country and continues to comply with all the prescripts relative to cost containment and spending.
“Simelane has been the Executive Authority of the Department of Human Settlements since December 2024. Since she arrived in the department, she has only undertaken one trip to the UN-Habitat Assembly, which took place in 2025, Nairobi, Kenya and the amount related to the trip is far below what is mentioned by the Action SA.
“The Ministry believes in holding the Executive Authority accountable. However, this must be done fairly. Any opportunistic attempts to secure media headlines and score political points must be treated with caution,” he said.
The Guardian 