Finance minister Enoch Godongwana says government does not centrally track the total cost of official vehicles for ministers and premiers as procurement is handled at departmental level across national and provincial spheres.
This was revealed in a written parliamentary reply after Build One South Africa deputy president Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster asked whether the National Treasury had quantified the total annual cost of official vehicle benefits and related perks after the adjustment of the vehicle cost threshold to R1.1mn.
Responding to the question, Godongwana said: “The purchase of vehicles is a decentralised function at national and provincial spheres. National Treasury Instruction 02 of 2025/2026 requires departments to record details of all acquisitions and/or disposals of vehicles and the costs of vehicles for official use by members of the executive in the annual report of the respective departments at the end of each financial year.
“A reporting template was developed for this purpose to allow National Treasury and other relevant stakeholders to quantify the cost for oversight and reporting.
“Other related perks provided in the guide for members of the executive fall outside the purview of the minister of finance.”
Hlazo-Webster also pressed the minister on what fiscal considerations informed the decision to maintain and increase the vehicle price threshold amid budget constraints.
The price threshold must not be seen as a target price. Departments are allowed and encouraged to use their own discretion to procure vehicles for official use that cost less than the price threshold if such vehicles are available.
— Finance minister Enoch Godongwana
Godongwana said the adjustment was long overdue, noting the threshold had not been revised in years.
“The guide provides the minister of finance authority to adjust the price threshold for official vehicles annually in consultation with the relevant ministers. Despite the provisions in the guide, the annual adjustments were not conducted since 2020 due to fiscal consolidations, and the last adjustment was during the 2019 medium-term budget policy statement,” he said.
He said departments had raised concerns that the previous cap of R800,000 was no longer realistic.
“The minister of finance had received many submissions and complaints that R800,000 (inclusive of VAT, security upgrades and maintenance plans) was no longer a suitable price and departments found it hard to procure vehicles that fitted within the price in the transversal contract,” he said.
Godongwana said Treasury’s own analysis backed this.
“National Treasury industry analysis confirmed inflationary adjustment over the five-year period had eroded the value of the threshold and prices had breached the set price limit for most vehicles,” he said.
Godongwana stressed the revised R1.1m cap should not be treated as a spending target.
“Accordingly, the price threshold was revised to R1.1m. The price threshold must not be seen as a target price. Departments are allowed and encouraged to use their own discretion to procure vehicles for official use that cost less than the price threshold if such vehicles are available,” he said.
The exchange highlights the concerns about government spending on executive perks, particularly as South Africa continues to navigate tight fiscal conditions.
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