Department of Basic Education spends R1.7-million on Minister's new cars

Less than a week after it was revealed that Communications Minister Siphiwe Nyanda spent R2.4-million on two new luxury vehicles, the Department of Basic Education has confirmed in a reply to a DA parliamentary question that Minister Angie Motshekga has also purchased two new vehicles - one BMW 730D, and one Range Rover Sport TDV8 - at a combined cost of R1.7-million.

A copy of the reply follows below.

This sort of spending is extravagant and unnecessary - certainly it far exceeds the Minister's needs, the triumph of status over prudency. To put this kind of expenditure into context, if every government department is to spend this amount on new vehicles for its Minister over the course of the next year or years, it will cost the taxpayer approximately R60-million.

In delivering his budget vote to Parliament, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan warned that the state had to be more disciplined in the way it manages its money. He stated: "After seven years of growing budgets and rising revenues there is a degree of fiscal looseness in the system and now is the time to tighten up on that looseness." He continued, "Money is not the problem ... it is how we spend the money. This has to improve. In several sectors, budgets have grown exponentially but outputs have not increased in tandem".

That request seems to slipped passed the national administration's attention unnoticed.

The ANC government's continued misuse of public funds aside, South Africa is in the grips of a recession and of all people the Minister of Basic Education should be finely attuned to the strain on finances available to government and the urgent need for resources to be devoted to productive purposes. Nowhere is this more urgent than in education, where ordinary teachers and principles battle to come out on their salaries at the end of each month.

There is absolutely no reason that a new minister should be spending R1.7-million on luxury vehicles. The general public outrage that followed last week's revelations over Communications Minister Siphiwe Nyanda's R2.4-million vehicles demonstrates that the South African public is not willing to tolerate this kind of exorbitant wastage. The DA will be submitting a follow up parliamentary question to establish how this expenditure could possibly be of public interest.

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION 356

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 03/07/2009

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 05-2009)

Ms JC Kloppers- Lourens (DA) to ask the Minister of Basic Education:

(1)Whether she purchased a new vehicle on her new appointment to office;  if so, (a) why, (b) what make and model is the vehicle (c) what did the vehicle cost and (d) (i) what accessories were included in excess of the vehicle's purchase price and (ii) what was the cost of such accessories;  if not,

(2)Whether she inherited an existing vehicle;  if so, (a) what was the make and model (b) how old is the vehicle?  NW416E

REPLY:

Statement issued by Junita Kloppers-Lourens MP, Democratic Alliance shadow minister of basic education, July 22 2009

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