Potch mayor refuses expensive car
2013-02-08 11:21
Potchefstroom - Tlokwe municipality mayor Annette Combrink
has refused to use a luxury official car that was delivered to her last week,
Beeld reported on Friday.
Expensive official cars for mayors were no longer
appropriate when people were burdened by poverty, Combrink reportedly told the
paper.
She said she would use her nine-year-old personal Volkswagen
Passat for official business.
Combrink on Thursday spoke about the fact that the
municipality had ordered a Mercedes-Benz E350 CDI worth R736 000 for the
previous mayor, Maphetle Maphetle, in June last year.
The car was only delivered last week, as special fittings -
beige leather seats and a sunroof - had been requested.
Meanwhile, two vehicles borrowed from a dealer were both
damaged when Tlokwe municipal officials used them.
The new Mercedes had been placed in storage in a municipal
garage, Combrink said.
Maphetle told Beeld he was not familiar with any specific
model or special finishes having been ordered because he did not know exactly
what had been budgeted for. Combrink said she had asked the Auditor General to
investigate the purchase.
"My biggest objection is basically that expensive
official cars in general, not just at Tlokwe, are unnecessary and
obsolete."
- SAPA
