It looks like being a cabinet minster in South Africa comes with a couple of perks, not least of which is bodyguards charged with protecting you. All is not well in the ranks, however, after a number of bodyguards spoke out over what they say is poor behaviour on the part of the politicians.

Working long hours, driving at dangerously high speeds to make meetings on time, waiting outside night clubs until the wee hours of the morning – these are just some of the complaints confirmed by the South African Policing Union president Mpho Kwinika. Over to TimesLive:

We have some members who drive ministers [to] meetings that go on until the early hours of the morning and still have to work early the next day, so fatigue creeps in, that is where accidents happen.

“You find some of these ministers there on Pretoria streets and our members outside at night saying their principal is partying somewhere inside. It would be better if they were rotating but that is not happening,” said Kwinika.

He said one minister was known for partying until the early hours of the morning while telling his bodyguards to go and socialise. They would then be expected to report for duty at the usual hour the next day.

The bodyguards, who spoke to the Sunday Times on condition of anonymity because they fear victimisation, claimed that when they raise their grievances, they are relegated to idling at their head office in Pretoria and not allocated any work.

So who are these ministers then, we know you want names. Communications Minister Faith Muthambi was called out for regularly requesting drivers to ferry her to Venda for the weekend as well as these below:

• Deputy Minister of Arts and Culture Joyce Mabudafhasi, who also wants to be driven to Venda almost every weekend;
• Deputy Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Thabang Makwetla, who is said to take keys from protectors, and drives himself in their presence at high speed;
• Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula [pictured above], who parties until the early hours of the morning. At times bodyguards apparently sleep outside his house as there is no time to go home and rest before the morning shift; and
• Deputy Higher Education Minister Mduduzi Manana, who has fired more than five bodyguards in just over a year and also parties until the early hours.

That late night partying is especially rough on the bodyguards when you consider that each minister is assigned two protectors, neither of whom may sleep as long as the minister is awake. More on that high-speed driving:

[A bodyguard] said they would often drive at speeds between 200km/h and 220km/h while using blue lights if a minister was running late.

“The minister just picks up a phone and calls your commanders and complains about you and the commanders will withdraw you ,” said a bodyguard.

One unnamed minister came in for a bit of a tongue-lashing, maybe you folks in Pretoria might know who this party animal is:

“That minister, you’ll find him surrounded by girls at Cubana in Hatfield [Pretoria] … To be honest, he makes it very hard for us to protect him because it is just a security risk when he is in a general public place, not in a VIP area. Protectors wait for him until he has done partying,” said one protector.

Sounds like quite the life these guys lead, one wonders when they find the time to serve the people.

[source:timeslive]