KZN Cargate: Public Protector confirms probe into MEC Mshengu car hire scandal
26 February 2020
The Democratic Alliance (DA) can today confirm that a decision by the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Department of Education (DoE) to hire a luxury car for MEC Kwazi Mshengu - at a cost of almost half a million Rand for less than six months - is being investigated by the provincial offices of the Public Protector (PP).
As the complainant in this issue, the DA was invited to make further submissions to the PP’s investigating team. This was done at their offices earlier this week.
At the heart of the matter is the fact that MEC Mshengu and his Department spent almost R500 000 – nearly R100 000 per month - on hiring a luxury BMW X7 over some five months.
This while there were two other official vehicles at the MEC’s disposal, as well as his own personal vehicle which he is lawfully entitled to use for official work. The MEC is now using his own car after one of the official cars was allegedly tampered with and dubbed unusable. There are also currently no details of the whereabouts of the other departmental vehicle.