Chauffeurgate: Comprehensive information needed from all provinces
The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Richard Baloyi, must call to account Members of Provincial Legislatures (MPLs) who are abusing policies designed to support members with special needs, and report to Parliament on the extent of the abuse.
The policy of the provincial legislature in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) allows MPLs with special needs to choose their own assistants to provide support services - such as transport. The Democratic Alliance (DA) revealed yesterday that MPLs in KZN are abusing this policy by appointing relatives and friends to chauffeur them at the state's expense.
Last week, the DA revealed that MPLs in Limpopo are using chauffeur-driven vehicles for personal and party-political purposes.
This may well be indicative of a much broader problem.
The DA has asked the Public Protector to investigate the issue and to determine whether similar abuses are taking place in other provinces.
We will be asking Minister Baloyi in Parliament to provide:
- A full list of all MPLs currently making use of chauffeur-driven vehicles paid for by the state;
- information, in each case, of the grounds on which these MPLs qualified for such a benefit;
- the names of all appointed chauffeurs; and
- the relationship, if any, between chauffeurs and the MPLs to whom they were appointed.
The clear abuse of public money to pay for chauffeurs for MPLs in Limpopo and KZN may be only the tip of the iceberg. The Minister needs to find out the facts regarding luxury transport for MPLs and account to Parliament for the decisions made in this regard by provincial governments under his stewardship.
Statement issued by John Steenhuisen MP, DA Shadow Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, April 19 2012
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