Communications Minister Siphiwe Nyanda has splashed R2.4-million of taxpayers’ money on two top-of-the-range BMWs, writes Dominic Mahlangu in The Times.
This includes R150000 he spent on installing accessories on the two BMW 750i vehicles , which cost R1135000 each.
This was revealed in a reply by Nyanda’s office to a parliamentary question posed by DA MP Niekie van den Berg in the National Assembly.
In its reply, the communications ministry said Nyanda was entitled to the vehicles in terms of the ministerial handbook because the official cars he inherited when he took over the department were either over the 120000km limit or older than five years.
“The vehicle for use in Cape Town was nine years old and had reached 115072km. The vehicle for use in Pretoria was four years old and had reached 137194km,†said the ministry in its reply.
But it is the additional features in both vehicles that has the official opposition hopping mad.
The extras include:
# Active cruise control “with stop and go†function at R22500;
# A rear seat entertainment system costing R23000; and
# An innovative package that includes rear-view camera; ceramic surround for controls and lane-change warning system for R35800.
In total, the extras for both cars has set the taxpayer back by R148400.
The DA yesterday described the additional features in both cars as “frivolous†and a “massive waste of public moneyâ€ÂÂ.
Click here to read the full report, posted on thetimes.co.za.
