With mainstream local media finding itself plenty to keep busy with over the last few days, a nice little presidential renovation story slipped past almost unnoticed. The top dog is obviously sprucing things up rather nicely at home because it’s costing close to R200 million.

That’s right, 200 bar. That’s worth an F-bomb if ever there was a need for one.

The following emerged as part of budget expenditure estimates for 2011:

refurbishment of Mahlamba Ndlopfu at the Bryntirion Estate will begin in April 2011 for a duration of 15 months and at a total cost of R191-million.

Because it’s obviously necessary to haemorrhage that amount of cash after the previous R40 million spent since 2005 hasn’t made it pleasurable enough.

Note that R13.9 million was dropped on Genadendal here in Cape Town last year and R1.9 million on Kings House in Durban too.

Make of this what you will, and at the same time bare in mind another R60 million is also going on a new hospital on the Pretoria estate.

I wonder if he’s getting iPads to control everything too?

[Source: Mail&Guardian]