In a bold move to curb government extravagance, DA Minister Dean MacPherson has replaced food-tasters and luxury vehicles with second-hand cars for ministers. DA leader John Steenhuisen exemplified this shift by opting for a high-mileage Toyota Prado from the government pool. As the DA focuses on cost-saving measures, including reducing state house expenses, MacPherson aims to instil accountability and pride in state assets while addressing the misuse of resources by former ministers.
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By John Matisonn
It’s out with food-tasters – yes, they are in the ministerial handbook – and blue lights, and in with second hand cars from the government car pool for DA ministers. ___STEADY_PAYWALL___
DA Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean MacPherson is cutting back on the extravagance of ministers to restore a “culture of pride in the assets of the state”, his spokesperson said this week.
DA leader John Steenhuisen set an example when he surprised civil servants by declining the new car the ministerial handbook allows him, and asked to choose from the second-hand cars in the government car pool.
“I discovered a Toyota Prado with 225,000 km on it, and said I’d take that,” he said. To astonished officials who argued the mileage was far too high, Steenhuisen replied: “It’s a Toyota. 225,000 means it’s just run in.”
That example is likely to shine a light on other ministers whose spending will be noticed. DA ministers decline to use blue lights when they travel, and chose second hand cars to avoid the extravagance of new luxury vehicles.
The DA has discouraged them from accepting a second house in Tshwane, which is allowed by the ministerial handbook as well as one in Cape Town.
“The ministerial handbook needs revision,” Steenhuisen said, suggesting the food-taster be replaced by a social media professional.
While MacPherson is cracking down on ministerial excess, in KwaZulu-Natal, where he is DA chairperson, he praised the crackdown on costs by DA MECs.
In KwaZulu-Natal, the DA Finance MEC shut down a second office in Durban, saving R1million a year, and stopped outsourcing printing of his speech to save R30,000. The DA’s Public Works MEC did away with glossy booklets, goody-bags for dignitaries and pull-up banners.
MacPherson’s office has pointed to apparent criminality by departing ministers or deputy ministers who stayed on when they stopped being ministers or even refused to leave, and others who removed expensive fitted items. One even ran a taxi business from the ministerial home.
At one of the luxury homes, nine carpets were ripped out. Other houses showed kitchen cabinets and other items removed, and the department found outstanding debt for utilities used there.
Former ministers – who are all ANC members – have been told to return assets taken and pay for the damage. “Where people have taken state property the department will ensure that they are criminally charged and that the items are recovered,” said James De Villiers, the ministry’s spokesperson.
“The department is currently engaging with the non-returning members to return assets which were reportedly taken or to account for them, or to repair damages which have been encountered.”
He said the department can “unfortunately not name anyone at this stage as we are allowing the parties involved to respond before we take additional action”.
There are 97 state-allocated homes around the country. The homes in Cape Town are worth almost R830 million, and those in Pretoria are valued at R137 million.
Macpherson is in the process of seeking to amend the lease agreements entered into with ministers and deputy ministers when they take occupation of state houses. This would require them to acknowledge the state of the properties before they move in and ensure that the properties are returned in a similar state when they leave.
“It’s important that we treat these leases in the same way as someone in a private sector lease would be treated, which includes incoming and outgoing inspections,” De Villiers said.
MacPherson has ensured that the director-general has direct oversight of the maintenance of the properties and removed the delegations which empowered state officials to spend up to R20 million without accounting officer approval.
In 2023, about R1.4 million was spent on kitchen upgrades in ministerial houses, R240 000 to get rid of cockroaches, R54 000 to replace a curtain rail, and R50 million to ensure that the generators of ministers and their deputies worked during load shedding.
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