‘Presidential’ shopping list for state(ly) home

johannesburg: golden gravy ladles, cut glass champagne glasses, dozens of new paintings and 48 persian carpets fit for a president – that’s what government shoppers are buying for at least one state home in pretoria.

the department of public works has issued tenders for the supply of “presidential standard” household items for a “vip residence”. the residence isn’t specified, but the site visit for prospective bidders is planned at bryntirion estate in pretoria, which houses the official residences of the president, ministers, and the state guest house. tenders were issued last week.

the shopping lists would mean dozens of guests could sit down to a presidential supper with top-quality tableware, serviettes embossed with coats of arms, persian rugs underfoot and “executive style” artwork on the walls.

there’s no indication of whether the items are intended to replace existing décor or, if so, what happened to original items.

the department of public works was not able to comment yesterday.

the presidency said the president was not involved.

“the department of public works manages and handles all aspects of the maintenance, renovations and anything that needs to be done to the official residences of the president of the republic. the president does not become involved in the procurement of any items eg carpets, paintings, crockery or the structures. these residences belong to the state for use by the head of state,” zizi kodwa, special adviser to president jacob zuma, said.

the call for tenders comes a week after it was revealed that the the presidential protection and security services are looking for a vehicle hire business that can provide a luxury vehicle available “at all times” in each of seven provinces, excluding gauteng and the western cape, for the use of president jacob zuma’s wives.

the tender for 45 artworks and 15 sets of ornaments starts with a “very beautiful piece of artwork painting suitable for the entrance hall of the president with gold or silver frames. it must be an attractive pieces 1 500 x 1 650,” said the tender documents.

the list of 48 persian carpets required “for a whole vip house” starts with a “very beautiful piece of persian carpets suitable for the entrance hall of the president. it must be an attractive big piece 3 500 x 3 500 and 3 500 x 2 500. the matching runner must be a nice piece of art 7 000 x 900”.

one persian carpet dealer said a top quality rug, 3.5m x 2.8m, would cost about r35 000.
the list details carpets required “to brighten the lounge as it looks dark”, dining room, two for the spousal office, one for the household manager’s room, passages, bedrooms, a conference room and even the staff rest room, and a kilim for the patio.

“all carpets specified are handmade carpets, genuine persian carpets. modern version to match the style of the modern house.

“we need top range carpets only with fine texture,” said the documents.

“the cutlery set should be supplied in beads design and pure gold material suitable for presidential standard.

“the whole set should have the same shade of gold.”

there are 300 units of cutlery on the shopping list – 25 boxes of 12 items per set. they include 19 different types of cutlery, from soup spoons to fish knives and salad forks.

the dinner tables will also have hand-cut crystal glasses of “a high standard quality suitable for presidential standard”.

there must be 300 of each of eight types of glasses, from champagne glasses to whisky glasses.

the shopping list includes linens for the bedrooms in the vip house, including white and cream king-sized linen for the main bedroom, and queen-sized linen for guest rooms.

there’s a request for place mats, serviettes and dish cloths with the “quote of arms” printed on them.

the cups and saucers must be white with a gold coat of arms on both and a gold line along the top edge of the cup.

there’s also a list of silverware, from trays to tea pots.