Johannesburg - Scopa North West will meet public works MEC Raymond Elisha on Thursday to discuss the purchase of a luxury car for premier Thandi Modise.
“The department is expected to account (for) the... purchasing of a brand new R1.3 million BMW 750i car bought for the premier,” North West legislature spokeswoman Namhla Luhabe said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Democratic Alliance was angered by the purchase of the car, which it said was in conflict with austerity plans announced in Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan's mid-term budget speech.
Modise's spokesman Lesiba Kgwele on Monday said the allegations were absurd and malicious because the car was already on order when the austerity plans were announced.
“The decision to purchase the BMW 750i... was taken by the provincial department of public works, roads and transport and was below the 70 percent limit prescribed by the ministerial handbook,” he said.
The value of the car may not exceed 70 percent of the value of the premier's annual salary.
Kgwele said the official car used by Modise's predecessor had exceeded the maximum mileage of 120,000km and had constant mechanical breakdowns, compromising Modise's security.
Luhabe said the public hearing would be held in Rustenburg on Thursday at 2pm.
The head of the North West public works department, the accounting officer of the premier's office and senior management of the department would attend the hearing by the Standing Committee on Provincial Public Accounts. -Sapa