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In response to a Democratic Alliance (DA) parliamentary question, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, has confirmed that her department purchased for her a new ministerial vehicle. The car in question is another BMW 750i (she follows Minister in Presidency Trevor Manuel in this regard). The car cost R1 190 087.39 and included the following extras, at an additional cost of R103 337.39:
• Covert Lighting System
• Window Tinting
• Innovations Model Package
This brings the total cost to the taxpayer, on this particular purchase, to R1 293 424.00 It also brings the total cost of all cars purchased by members of the ANC executive to date, to approximately R43 905 830.00 and the total coast of ‘extras' to R942 908.00. In other words, the amount spent on things like leather steering wheels and DVD players now hovers just below a R1 million. The Minister does not state in her reply what is included in BMW's ‘innovations model package', but a quick visit to BMW's website <http://www.mailfire.co.za/link/QlJVTj0xMTk5MyZMSUQ9Mzg3NjcmU0lEPTEwMTk1MzY=.aspx> reveals the answer. In includes the following:
• Adaptive headlights
• Ambient interior lighting
• Ceramic surround for controls
• High Beam Assist
• Lane Departure Warning
• Lane Change Warning
• Rear view camera
Quite how a rear view camera or ambient interior lighting helps the Minister promote South Africa's interests with foreign countries, the Minister does not say. What the Minister did say, in a separate reply to a different DA question about the kinds of austerity measures her department was introducing (on 7 August), was that: "The department has identified a number of cost cutting measures that will be implemented to reduce wasteful expenditure and to ensure that resources are diverted to essential services and key priority programmes in my department." Once again, as is increasingly the case with the ANC government, an undertaking is not matched by action. Indeed, if anything, the actions run in the opposite direction to a promise or commitment. This week it was reported that Kenya's Finance Minister had recently announced that all official government vehicles that exceeded 1800cc were to be "withdrawn" as a "measure to control costs in a contracting economy". To date the Kenyan government had earned 170 million Kenyan Shillings (R17 million) from the sale of 488 cars surrendered by various departments. Around 2 000 vehicles have already been surrendered reducing the government's fleet from 8900 to 6900 vehicles. The ANC executive would do well to take heed of this kind of initiative, to reign in their egos and to start putting the South African people ahead of their own personal interests.