The NW government has decided to purchase a new official vehicle worth R1.1 million for NW Premier Supra Mahumapelo.
Brian Setswambung, the Premier’s spokesperson, said in a statement on Tuesday, that the reason for the purchase of the car is a series of reported mechanical breakdown incidents involving the official vehicles allocated to the Premier.

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‘Premier Mahumapelo has been using two vehicles which he inherited from his predecessors, which had not only clocked over 250 000 and 190 000 kilometres respectively but had stuck on a number of occasions due to mechanical problems,’ he said.
‘While the Ministerial Handbook allows the Premier to change his car once it has gone over 120 000km, Mahumapelo had always maintained his view that the people of the province need to play a role and guide him on when they believe it’s the right time for the provincial government to procure a new official car for the Premier. This despite the SAPS VIP Protection Unit warning Premier Mahumapelo that using old cars that are way beyond the prescribed 120 000km and tend to be unreliable can put both his life and those of his protectors at risk,’ he said.

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Setswambung says the Ministerial Handbook allows for provincial governments to purchase a vehicle valued at R1.4million, however premier Mahumapelo had in his continued effort to lead by example and encourage Members of Executive Council to exercise cost saving measures when procuring official government vehicles, agreed to the purchasing of a vehicle with a total cost of R1.1million, thus saving R300 000 of public funds.

‘The provincial government wishes to thank members of the public who have unreservedly supported the move to purchase a new and reliable official vehicle for the Premier, the process of which is being facilitated by the provincial department of Community Safety and Transport Management,’ he concluded.