Cape Town - Minister of Small Business Development Lindiwe Zulu has hit out at a report in a weekend newspaper about her car, saying that “even a child” would know the correct price of her Lexus, and accusing the newspaper of “creating hatred”.
Zulu was answering questions in the National Assembly on Wednesday afternoon.
According to a report in the Sunday Times, the Department of Small Business Development bought three cars - a Mercedes-Benz E400, a Lexus GS 350 and a BMW 5 Series, for the use of Zulu and her deputy Nomathemba November.
The newspaper reported that 13 new cars in total had been bought for SA ministers and deputy ministers for R12m.
In response to a question by DA MP Toby Chance in the National Assembly, Zulu said that the article was wrong.
She said the Lexus - she did not affirm the make – cost R580 000, and not R900 000 as the newspaper reported.
“I had a conversation with the very same journalist who wrote the story yesterday, and I said to the journalist ‘we here this side of the ANC fought for the freedom of the press, we fought for the freedom of journalists to write and write facts’”.
She added she found it “very stupid” for someone to not know the cost of the car. ”Even a child would know that a Lexus like that can’t cost a million rands.”
She said she did not have a BMW. She said her deputy minister drives a car inherited by her predecessor.
She then accused the newspaper of “created hatred”.
“So, if you don’t mind respectfully, go back to that journalist and tell that journalist that the freedom that they have is a costly freedom and therefore when they write without investigating, getting all the facts, they are creating hatred, they are creating animosity, they are creating a situation that [would be] untenable, if they continue what they are doing,” she said.
She said it was not correct for journalists to "write what they want and not write what is fact". She repeated a number of times that it was up to Chance to "go back to the journalist," although she also added she would be having lunch with the journalist.
Approached by Fin24 for its reaction to what Zulu said, the Sunday Times chose not to provide comment.