POLITICS

Nzimande needed BMW 750i for security reasons - SACP

Malesela Maleka accuses DA of trivialising and scandalising the matter

SACP STATEMENT ON THE PROCUREMENT OF THE GENERAL SECRETARY'S OFFICIAL VEHICLE

The SACP has noted the statement of the Democratic Alliance following the response of the General Secretary of the SACP, in his capacity as Minister of Higher Education and Training, to their question regarding the purchase of his official vehicle (see here.)

The SACP wishes to reiterate its call and support for prudent expenditure of public resources and continues to advocate for more focused interventions to curb extravagant spending. That notwithstanding, we wish to put on record that for the SACP, the procurement of an official vehicle for the General Secretary of the SACP always takes into consideration safety and security issues. These measures had to be adopted long before Cde Blade was appointed into cabinet.

The last risk assessment conducted by the South African Police Service sometime before his appointment as Minister necessitated measures to strengthen and increase his security. This included the provision of a car which is able to meet such requirements and respond to the needs of his diary.

The SACP condemns attempts by the DA to trivialise and scandalise these matters and its attempt to play off Ministers against each other despite the clarification from government on this issue. The policy guidelines on Ministerial cars, with which Cde Blade has strictly complied, needs to be a collective matter and not informed by individual grandstanding.

Statement issued by South African Communist Party spokesperson, Malesela Maleka, September 2 2009

Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter