Gauteng premier Nomvula Mokonyane has denied buying a new, official Mercedes Benz.
|||Gauteng premier Nomvula Mokonyane on Tuesday denied buying a new, official Mercedes Benz.
“We do not own the vehicle, it is a property of G-fleet,” she replied to a question in the Gauteng Legislature in Joburg, referring to government's fleet of cars.
DA caucus leader Jack Bloom had asked Mokonyane why she had bought an expensive car which was about R500 000 more than her previous car, a BMW X5.
“The Mercedes ML63 AMG costs R1 259 000. Was it necessary?” Bloom asked.
Mokonyane replied the Mercedes was not owned by her office, but leased from G-fleet.
“Let me answer and put this matter to rest. We have not paid R1 million (for the car), we only pay for petrol and mileage when we use the vehicle.”
Bloom said a less expensive car could have saved the province money. He asked the premier to consider limiting the cost of official vehicles for executive council members to 40 percent of their annual salary. – Sapa