MINISTERS’ BMW VEHICLES BREAK DOWN

MBABANE – Luxury indeed comes at a cost. The lavish official vehicles for Cabinet ministers are proving to be a drain to government’s already dry purse.

A majority of the ministers are currently being chauffeured in rented vehicles, at government’s expense, following that their luxurious BMW X5 Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) have developed mechanical faults and are in three garages; one in Manzini, another in Matsapha and the rest at the Mbabane Central Transport Administration (CTA) depot.
Government has been left to bear the expense of fixing the ministers’ vehicles because their service plans have reportedly been exhausted.
The service plans were reportedly E100 000 for each car.

Some of the ministers using rented cars include ICT’s Dumisani Ndlangamandla, Education and Training’s Phineas Magagula, Economic Planning and Development’s Prince Hlangusemphi, Public Works and Transport’s Lindiwe Dlamini, Housing and Urban Development’s Phiwayinkhosi Mabuza, Tinkhundla Administration and Development’s Mduduzi Dlamini, and Agriculture’s Moses Vilakati.
The rented cars are Isuzu and Ford 4x4 bakkies, as well as BMW 340i sedans.

Ministers who were seen still driving the BMWs were Finance’s Martin Dlamini, Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation’s Chief Mgwagwa Gamedze and Tourism and Environmental Affairs’ Christopher Gamedze.
Public Works and Transport Minister Lindiwe Dlamini confirmed the problem that government was faced with pertaining to the BMWs breaking down.

reasons renting cars
“Yes, the cars have broken down and taken to different garages, which is why we are renting cars,” the minister said. She mentioned that the other reason that forced government to opt to hire vehicles was that those in the government pool had been assigned to the ongoing process of the 2018 national general elections. The minister further acknowledged that government was faced with financial challenges, which made it impossible to pay for the cars once they had been fixed.

“That is why some of the cars are still at the garages. Government has financial challenges and cannot pay for the cars once they have been fixed, which is why they take longer to be returned to the ministers. But we try and pay as and when money becomes available,” the minister stated.

Dlamini said she was not in a position to state the money that had been spent in fixing the cars and the number of the vehicles that were currently in garages, as she said this was technical information. At the time of compiling this report, her Principal Secretary Makhosini Mndawe had not responded to a list of questions that were texted to him, as he is the person best-placed to have such information.

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