{
  "id": 10354797,
  "title": "Presidency's R2.76m car hire bill for one deputy minister",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/28/presidencys-r2-76m-car-hire-bill-for-one-deputy-minister",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-28T03:50:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "IOL",
    "slug": "iol",
    "url": "https://iol.co.za/news/2026-09-28-presidencys-r276m-car-hire-bill-for-one-deputy-minister/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Presidency's expense report reveals that the government spent R2.76 million on car hire for deputy minister Kenny Morolong alone, over the course of just 11 months. This amounts to roughly R250,000 per month. Morolong's car rental expenses surged from R167,141 in the nine months following July 2024 to a staggering R2.757 million between April 2025 and February 2026. In contrast, minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni refused to disclose her own travel costs to Parliament. ActionSA MP Dr Kgosi Letlape requested a full breakdown of travel expenses for Ntshavheni and her two deputies from July 2024 to February 2026, including trip purposes, destinations, costs, and staff involved. Ntshavheni responded for her deputies, Morolong and Nonceba Mhlauli, but did not provide her own information. She explained that part of the question had been forwarded to Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence, while the information shared with this committee encompasses all trips undertaken. Ntshavheni, responsible for the State Security Agency within the Presidency, has previously declined public disclosure of her travel costs, citing potential risks to national security. ActionSA noted that Ntshavheni was the only minister who chose to hide her travel expenses, with their tracker indicating Cabinet's international travel bill reached nearly R450 million over 18 months, excluding Ntshavheni's costs. Morolong's office accounted for R7.36 million of the total R10.5 million spent on travel and staff between July 2024 and February 2026, nearly double Mhlauli's R3.14 million. Morolong's travel expenditures rose from R1.34 million in the first nine months to R5.06 million in the subsequent 11 months, with car hire covering R2.93 million of the latter period's R4.54 million.",
  "summary": "The Presidency spent R2.76m hiring cars for deputy minister Kenny Morolong in just 11 months, about R250,000 a month, while minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni refused to tell Parliament what her own travel had cost.",
  "key_points": [
    "Deputy Minister Kenny Morolong's car hire bill reached R2.76 million in 11 months.",
    "Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni declined to disclose her own travel costs.",
    "ActionSA MP Dr Kgosi Letlape requested full breakdown of travel expenses."
  ],
  "editors_take": "The Presidency's disclosure of deputy minister Kenny Morolong's R2.76 million car hire bill highlights a discrepancy in transparency, as minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni withholds her own travel costs citing national security risks.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}