Ministerial Expenditure: Cabinet's car hire bills a reckless use of state funds

Earlier this parliamentary term, I submitted a question to each member of the executive to determine to how much had been spent on car hire for each minister and deputy minister since March 2010. The replies I have received thus far indicate that most ministries have spent significant amounts on hiring luxury vehicles to transport both ministers and deputy ministers.

Although a certain level of expenditure on car hire is quite acceptable, the DA regards the trend that has emerged from the information contained in these replies to be of deep concern. For a member of the executive to spend hundreds of thousands of Rands worth of state funds on car hire raises serious questions about the degree of financial prudence being exercised by the Zuma cabinet.

It is also disappointing to note that some ministers have failed to supply the information that was requested, with the Minister of Labour simply ignoring important sections of the parliamentary question. Equally concerning is the fact that the vast majority of ministries have simply failed to respond to the question at all, which highlights the cabinet's general disregard for parliamentary processes.

The four ministries that have supplied the information requested- Public Works, Arts and Culture, Mineral Resources and Trade and Industry- have spent a total of R865 211 on care hire since March 2010, with Public Works alone spending R436 911. These are significant numbers and illustrate reckless use of state resources.

Hiring a C180 class Mercedes Benz costs between R700 and R900 per day. Racking up a car hire bill in excess of R200 000 therefore suggests that the relevant cabinet members are hiring cars on at least a weekly basis, and that luxury cars are being hired at exorbitant rates.

The results of the six replies I have received thus far are as follows:

In the DA-run Western Cape, the ministerial handbook has been rewritten to curb excessive expenditure on items such as car hiring and buying luxury cars. This stands in stark contrast to the reluctance with which the updating of the national ministerial handbook has been managed. Despite assertions by Minister of Public Service and Administration, Richard Baloyi, that amendments to the national handbook would be made public "certainly before the World Cup", the Zuma government continues to stall on the release of the changes.

In light of the information revealed by the parliamentary replies I have received thus far, I will be submitting follow up questions to each Minister to request additional details concerning their and their deputy's car hire expenditure- such as why greater use was not made of vehicles from the government fleet.

Statement issued by Ian Ollis MP, DA Shadow Minister of Labour, July 3 2011

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