This is getting ridiculous! If you read the article, have a look at the related ones as well.
All over the country the mayors of small towns are spending huge amounts of money on their mayoral cars (read company cars), instead of spending the money on necessities for the community.
This abuse of power has got to stop now!
I think the national government needs to step in here and pass legislation as to how much each class of mayor is allowed to spend on a car. I'm not saying they should not get cars to do their duties, but does the mayor of Pofadder(just an example) really deserve the same type of car as the mayor of Jo'burg or Cape Town? Hell No!
Run it like a group of companies. You have your CEO (the president of the country), he's allowed to get the big car with the chaufeur. Let's say he can spend 1,5 million for example. His direct reports (cabinet ministers) are allowed to spend 1 million. This is the "holding company".
Now, all subsidiaries(cities & towns) are allowed to buy cars for their management, but they're not allowed to be worth more than what the holding company's management is driving, and it should also be reflective of the size of company(town) you run.
So, for the big cities, the companies that contribute most to the holding company, the management can splash a bit, and lets say spend 600K-750K. There are only 6 or 7 of these. Then the price comes down as the size of the town comes down. So that the mayor of a small rural town in Mpumalanga(once again an example), is only allowed to get a Toyota Corolla or something similarly priced. That is more in line with the amount of responsibility you have.
This system works well, and is understood well in the business world, it is time our government wakes up to the fact. When you are ellected to office, it is first and foremost to serve the community, if you do it well, they will reward you, it is not to serve your own interests, and abuse your newfound power.
Source: Mayor 'puts Merc before water': South Africa: News: News24