By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Build One South Africa (BOSA) leader Mmusi Maimane says the government’s decision to raise the vehicle cost threshold for cabinet ministers and MECs from R800,000 to R1.1 million is a complete insult to the people of South Africa.
The increase, which took effect in July 2025 under the government of national unity, was confirmed by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana in a written parliamentary reply to Bosa MP Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster.
In his reply, Godongwana explained that annual threshold adjustments had not been made since 2020 due to fiscal consolidation measures, with the last revision dating back to the 2019 Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement.
Treasury’s own internal analysis found that inflation had significantly eroded the value of the R800 000 cap over five years, making it increasingly difficult for departments to procure suitable vehicles through the government’s Transversal Contract.
The minister noted that the R1.1 million ceiling, which includes VAT, security upgrades, and maintenance plans, should not be treated as a target price.
Maimane described Godongwana’s response as evasive. “The minister effectively held his hands up in the air, shifting responsibility, deflecting, and avoiding a clear answer.”
He framed the issue as one of broader governance failure.
“You cannot manage what you do not measure, and treasury’s inability to provide a full cost of executive perks undermines any claim to responsible financial management,” he said.
Maimane is calling on Godongwana to publish a full consolidated account of all executive perks, including official vehicles, review and reduce these benefits in line with current fiscal constraints, and prioritise relief for ordinary South Africans.
Meanwhile Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) described the National Treasury’s decision as “tone deaf”.
Cosatu Parliamentary Coordinator Matthew Parks said the decision was an unbelievable affront to the working class and society, who have been told by the very National Treasury to tighten their belts.
“It is beyond shocking that this reckless decision comes from the same Treasury that has cried poverty, attempted to increase VAT, and refused to adjust tax brackets for low- and middle-income workers for inflation for two years,” Parks said.
Both BOSA and Cosatu have called for a review and reduction of the price limit for ministerial vehicles.