KwaZulu-Natal Education MEC and ANC Youth League chair Kwazi Mshengu has used an elaborate scam to avoid using his predecessor’s Mercedes-Benz, instead spending hundreds of thousands of rands on renting new vehicles.

The Sunday Times reported that officials working for the MEC forged a letter from a Mercedes-Benz dealership advising against driving the one-year-old Mercedes-Benz GLE 350 provided to him.

The letter said the vehicle was so unsafe to drive that it could kill him, adding that it had a defect in its “intake capacitor” and had been repaired by a “non-approved repairer”.

It added that the car leans towards the right side due to the “balance brace not being an approved replacement part”.

“The vehicle does start and can be driven, however it is not recommended that this be done as the risk of a fatality due to the non-approved repair is high,” the letter said.

When the letter was showed to Mercedes-Benz South Africa, the company confirmed that it was not authorised by the company or any of its agents.

According to the report, Mshengu refuses to use the car as it belonged to his predecessor and political opponent, Mthandeni Dlungwane.

“The MEC is not using the car because it is road unworthy with possibilities of fatalities if continued to be used as confirmed by Mercedes-Benz SA,” the MEC’s spokesperson told The Sunday Times.

A source at Mercedes-Benz SA told the Sunday Times that the car was completely safe to drive.

Renting with a chauffeur

Despite the Mercedes-Benz provided to him having only 40,200km on the clock and no mechanical problems, Mshengu is currently being driven around in rented vehicles.

The Kwazulu-Natal Education MEC has been seen driven around in a newer Mercedes-Benz GLE from Woodford Car Hire, which costs R103,776 per month.

He has also been spotted being chauffeured around in a BMW X7.

At this rate, the government has spent at least R500,000 on the MEC’s transport since he took office in May 2019.

The spokesperson for the MEC said that Mshengu had hired two cars since he took office.

“After the lease they invoice us. You are free to call them,” the spokesperson told the Sunday Times.

“We don’t know what they are charging the department.”

This follows after President Ramaphosa said the government would crack down on the expensive habits of ministers.

These measures include the imposition of upper limits on purchasing of cars, tariffs on private vehicles, and security upgrades for private residences.

The government published a revised guide for members of the executive in June 2019, which states that departments may only replace a motor vehicle purchased for a member if the vehicle has reached 120,000km or five years, or if the car experiences serious mechanical problems and is in poor condition.

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