KZN fury: Local politician hires luxury BMW with R500 000 of taxpayer cash

KZN Education MEC Kwazi Mshengu has driven himself into a tight corner here, after it was revealed he spent half a million rand of taxpayers’ money to hire a BMW – despite already having three other vehicles to choose from. The Public Protector’s office is now investigating the alleged cash-grab.

Who is Kwazi Mshengu?

The Democratic Alliance in KZN submitted their grievances to the Chapter 9 institution in November, and were invited to share further documentation this week. The party are adamant that Mshengu violated his mandate to serve the people of the province, and instead prioritised his own satisfaction.

Kwazi Mshengu, MEC of education in KZN, has the audacity to fraudulently doctor a letter so he can wiz around in fancier BMW at R90K a month, yet KZN still has schools with pit toilets. Yeah, ANC government of the people alright. ? #Checkpoint

— JJ (@TheDonJJ11) November 13, 2019

Mshengu has apparently rented a luxury BMW X7 at a whopping cost of R100 000 per month. His tab now stands at R500 000, and it’s money the DA feel could have been spent in a much wiser fashion.

KZN politician spends taxpayer money on a BMW

Imran Keeka is a spokesperson on education for the opposition party. He further explained the charges the DA were seeking to bring against the MEC, and slammed Mshengu for “not knowing” where an official vehicle given to him by the provincial government was.

“There were two other official vehicles at the MEC’s disposal, as well as his own personal vehicle which he is lawfully entitled to use for official work. Kwazi Mshengu is now using his own car after one of the official cars was allegedly tampered with and dubbed unusable.”

“There are also currently no details of the whereabouts of the other departmental vehicle. It’s extremely unfortunate that such a large sum of money was spent on car hire given that this department is so cash-strapped. It could have been used to eradicate pit latrines or address crumbling classrooms all over KZN.”

Imran Keeka

It’s not just in KZN where politicians behave badly

It’s not the first time an elected official has put luxury car hire on the taxpayers’ tab this year. In January, Mogalakwena Mayor Andrina Matsimela faced a round of stinging criticism, after it was revealed the Limpopo official had spent over R200 000 of public funds to rent a Mercedes-Benz C-Class for herself.

Mshengu, however, spent considerably more to catch the Public Protector’s eye.