Miguelito

There will always be this sort of behaviour.

It’s time the critics looked at the private sector where abuse is rife and not the government.

Some would accompany technocrats and then sit outside on continental cafes having coffee.
When I asked one what he had learned at a certain confewrence he simply sidestepped the issue

Cheryle

You know that private enterprise does not get thier money from state coffers. I for one am so angry with government’s abuse of tax funds and pay my tax on time every year because I want to see it go to improving the country and this is what it is being used for. I say next year that all South African citizens band together and stop submitting tax returns until government puts a stop to this ridiculous excess!

mandla

What value should a cabinet minister’s car be?

What informs the standards for a ministerial vehicle? Probably security, safety, general varsatility, comms features?

If I were a minister, should I have a “beefed up” mercedez C-class whose security upgrading may cost R300 000?

Maybe the government must settle on a standard ministerial car whose luxury upgrade may be at the cost of the individual minister.

Frankly speaking even as a private citizen you cant get a decent good car for less than R800 000. So the whole hurlyburly about cars worth around R1million is overrated and borders on mass hysteria.

A good starting point is to lay down minimum standards e.g.
engine capacity
safety
security features
general comfort
communications features etc etc

And let the market decide the value of the car. I dont believe Trevor’s mea culpa is genuine. Does he want to drive a beefed up Corolla?

Sometimes you get the impression that criticism is just offered as some kind of ritual. I beg to be educated here and I am not a minister!

Larry Goodfella

Mandla,

You say that you cannot get a decent car for less than R800,000.

I drive a 2009 Honda Accord Exec 2.4 and I paid R320,000. It is the best car I have ever driven and I have owned million plus cars. The Lexus sedans are in the same class and even the 450 Hybrid SUV comes in at just under a half a million.

Kerry

Mr Manuel has said the right thing, but is he going to translate that into action, or is he still going to continue being driven around in this expensive vehicle? It’s all very well to pay lip service to “the right thing”, but, if you’ll pardon the cliche, actions speak louder than words… and that applies to all the ministers who have gone on this ridiculous spending spree…

Judge Motata

BLADE WAS SET-UP!!!
Cde Blade was literally set-up since he never was involved in the procurement process for his vehicle. Capitalists bribed some officials to buy an overly expensive car the the “number One” communist is SA so that they can justify their disgust of socialism. Trevor bought his expensive car as well just to scorn at the left, knowing that they will not rebuke him hard since “one of their own” is on the same page as him. the purpose was to bring a point that the left is infact the “fake” left who, if given power, will be looters of public cofers. Being a responsible leader Blade is, he cant go to the media and say i was set up, he owns up to the situation and he went to COSATU congress and apologised, but now the media say Trevor was the first one to apologise!!!
Sies man…

ms logic

The price of cars is something Manuel used to be quite passionate about. I interviewed him once, just after he became a minister, and he said it was a mission in his life to make cars affordable. I guess he did that….by ensuring he had big perks and departmental budgets to pay for the wheels.

Anonim

Judge Motata
Has Blade (or Trevor for that matter) swapped his procured ‘capitalist’ vehicle for a more ‘communist’ vehicle?

If he has unequivocally refused the vehicle on receipt and demanded that he won’t go anywhere until they give him another more ‘reasonable’ vehicle then I applaud Blade for his honesty.

On the other hand if he did not then its just another politician’s empty rhetoric.

Skodide Goodfella

Hi there LARRY Goodfella and ELI and SOME of you other Conservative Democrats from all spectrums [of politics and colour?]
Long time since I blogged and still don’t know if THIS comment will ever get onto the page as there always seems to be a problem with this web-site and it is not my system problem.
Anyway, having read the comments on the expensive cars being bought for Official Non-official?, use; makes my blood boil as there is so much else which could be done with the blood money which comes out of our pockets and is wasted on this cause. I have never spent more than a third of the value which Manuel’s car cost. I have almost always been happy with what that type of value can buy.

Talking of cars makes me think back more years than I would care to admit but I’d like to tell you a short story. “When I was a young fellow, I had connection to the SADF in Wetton in the Cape at Youngsfiefld. We were always a group and used to often go to a flick and have a beer [or more] at Cogill’s Hotel across from the SAPD office in Wynberg, in the same street as the Maynard Park. [Eli you will know the old Cogill’s of which the name has now changed].

The last bus to run through from Wynberg to Wetton was 22.45 hours. This particular evening about 22.35 there was a group of us youngsters standing just behind what was then the Monatic Shirt factory; waiting for the bus. This is straight across the track from the mountain side of the station therefore on the Wetton side of the track. To get to that place, one has to walk down through the sub-way, under the track; which is also used by motor vehicles, and then walk turn sharp right and walk for about thirty metres or so until behind the factory building where the bus-stop was.

While standing there, a car could be heard coming through the sub-way. Some of our pals had cars so as we turned to see if it was one of them, this green car came around the right turn and kept well to the left. Having made it around the corner, the car came towards us and mounted the anchor cable of the lamp-pole next to us and having done this dead centre of balance, it moved up the cable for the entire length of the car and came to a stand-still at 45 degrees, on its back bumper. The driver would not have been able to do this if he had not visited Cogill’s or some other outlet of ‘strong medicine’.

We helped the driver to get to the ground, where he stood rather wobbly, and were trying to answer his question as to how to get his car down, when the bus arrived through the sub-way. We never did see the end of the story but I am sure that IF the driver remembered anything the next day, then he is still telling this story as I am telling you now. The only difference in his story is that he probably swerved to miss the pole which had jumped into the road, but tripped over the cable. How’s that for something you don’t see every day?

Hooha

Trevor Manual is just like the rest of the ANC hierarchy! He says he didn’t choose the car, only the colour & now he can’t give it back because the Gov’t (taxpayer) would lose too much! What utter rubbish! Although there are no servicing costs on those cars, he’s already used some 1500 to 2000 litres of petrol, & when he needs tyres – soon – they are about R5000 each! This lot don’t even deserve bicycles, but a Corolla would get them to where they want to be just as well as a 750 BM!

Driveshaft

Thats a lot of money for a car that will be used for official purposes only. Better buy something else.

Carburetor Kits & Accessories

This is a very good car. No doubt about it. With good parts like this you can’t ask for more.