R5 million on Ministerial car rentals since 2012

Ministers and Deputy Ministers have clocked more than 368 000 kilometres in car rentals since the beginning of 2012 at a combined expense of R5.1 million, according to replies to DA generic parliamentary questions I submitted.

In one of the worst incidents, the Minister of Arts and Culture, Paul Mashatile, rented a car between 4 and 5 January 2012 at a cost of R3 125 and only travelled 1km.

The excessive amounts spent on car rentals is a misuse of public funding as members of the executive already have official vehicles at their disposal. 

When travelling in other parts of the country, official vehicles owned by other levels of government should be used to transport members of the executive, instead of renting vehicles from external providers.

The Ministerial Handbook, concerningly, does not set limits on the amount members of the executive are allowed to bill the public purse for car rental.

The DA will write to the Minister of Public Service and Administration, Lindiwe Sisulu, requesting an update on the amendments to the Ministerial Handbook announced in July 2009 by President Jacob Zuma. 1520 days later, the public and the DA still waits.

Ministers with the highest car rental bills are:

• Rural Development and Land Reform, Gugile Nkwinti, R1.03 million;
• Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Tina Joemat-Pettersson, R640 069;
• Arts and Culture, Paul Mashatile, R 636 673; and
• Public Service and Administration, the late Roy Padayachie and Lindiwe Sisulu, R513 755.

Deputy Ministers with the highest car rental bills are:

• Rural Development and Land Reform, at the time Lechesa Tsenoli, R338 202;
• Public Service and Administration, Ayanda Dlodlo, R211 198; 
• Higher Education and Training, Mduduzi Manana, R199 871; and
• Arts and culture, Dr Joe Phaahla, R183 516.

Of the 33 parliamentary questions submitted, the DA has only received 20 replies, of which only 17 have been answered correctly. The Minister of Home Affairs, Naledi Pandor, Minister of Human Settlements, Connie September, and Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Edna Molewa, have not sent adequate responses.

Where we govern in the province of the Western Cape, the DA has implemented a strict Ministerial Handbook to ensure that those who hold public office do not waste public funding on nice to haves.

Where we are elected to govern in 2014, similar cost-saving Ministerial Handbooks will be implemented to ensure that public officials do not waste public funding. 

With so many South Africans living on the brink of poverty, it is simply indefensible for members of the executive to live a bling-bling lifestyle at the cost of the public.

Statement issued by Ian Ollis MP, DA Shadow Minister of Transport, October 1 2013

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