Ministers and deputies spent R1m on hire cars

Cabinet ministers and their deputies have spent more than R1-million on hired cars in about a year - and the total is rising.

Yesterday, Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk revealed in a reply to a parliamentary question that he and his deputy, Tokozile Xasa, had spent R310888 on hired cars since March last year.

Van Schalkwyk hired a Mercedes-Benz E200 three times to attend meetings and once when his car was being repaired. He hired Hyundai buses twice and a Volkswagen kombi once, for a road show.

Xasa ran up most of the bill, hiring cars 32 times and spending R264201.

She refused to say what the cars were hired for, saying only that about R130000 had been spent on hiring cars for trips to carry out her "constituency responsibilities". When her ministerial car went for repairs, Xasa spent R27000 on a Mercedes-Benz E200 for five days.

"This constitutes wasteful and fruitless expenditure and further confirms the DA's suspicions that excessive spending on car rentals is a cabinet-wide problem," said DA MP Ian Ollis, who asked the question. 

Only five of 34 ministers have answered parliamentary questions about how much they spent on car hire.

The Times reported last month that Public Works had spent more than R430000, Mineral Resources more than R250000, Trade and Industry R59000, and Arts and Culture R118000.

Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant said she hired cars 12 times but did not reveal how much this had cost.

The "ministerial handbook" allows members of the cabinet to hire luxury cars when they are away from their official vehicles, which are based in Pretoria and Cape Town.

The government is revising the handbook - which is classified as secret - but has not released details of the changes.