[imagesource: Jerome Delay / AP / African News Agency]

Politicians are handsomely rewarded for their efforts.

Some, like many of the EFF top brass, even have their own bank to plunder, which pays for the high life.

Then there’s the ANC, which prefers to sell out the country itself to the highest bidder, at least on past form.

In the case of the DA, and Mmusi Maimane, the party has consistently been outspoken about taking a hard line on corruption. With that in mind, you would think that Maimane would steer clear of any favours coming his way from big business, but it appears that’s not the case.

Coming off the back of his ‘does he or doesn’t he own that Claremont house’ debacle, the DA leader has now been accused of driving around in a car gifted to him by Markus Jooste.

Yes, Steinhoff’s Markus Jooste.

Here’s News24:

According to the publication, Jooste made the white Toyota Fortuner available for Maimane’s use ahead of the municipal elections in 2016.

James Selfe, the DA Federal Executive chairperson, confirmed to Rapport that the vehicle was owned by a car rental company and paid for by Steinhoff.

He said that after the Steinhoff revelations, the party thought it best, under the circumstances, to return the vehicle, which they later did.

But it appeared that Maimane had for months continued to drive the vehicle, despite letters from colleagues warning him of the risks.

After the story broke yesterday morning, Maimane pushed back on Twitter, addressing News24’s editor-in-chief directly:

Look, Maimane may well be telling the truth there. As soon as you hear that you’re driving around in a car that’s been gifted to you by the guy who’s South Africa’s modern-day version of the captain of the Titanic, you get rid of it.

But, and this is the real kicker, why are you accepting gifts like this anyway? Mmusi Maimane earns a salary of R1,6 million a year, along with the laundry list of freebies that South African MPs enjoy.

When you’re out there being an anti-corruption champion, don’t put yourself in a situation where it can even be alleged that you’re getting cosy with big business.

I think this from Tom Eaton hits the nail on the head:

Pay for your own fecking car, and avoid the mess altogether.

The Steinhoff car wasn’t the only heat Maimane has caught this week, with the Sunday Times reporting that he was grilled over the Claremont house we mentioned earlier:

DA MP Mike Waters confronted party leader Mmusi Maimane at a heated meeting of its federal executive last week, demanding answers over a lease scandal involving his rented Cape Town home.

Insiders said that Waters told the meeting he wanted to see documentary proof that Maimane was paying rent for the house from his own pocket so that Waters could confidently deal with the issue if the media raised it with him.

“He proceeded to ask how much he [Maimane] pays for rent, whether or not that amount is market related, and went as far as demanding that he produce bank statements to prove that,” said one of the insiders, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting is meant to be closed.

Waters, who is one of the three deputy federal chairs of the party, is leading a group of high-profile party figures determined to put Maimane on the ropes over the controversy about his rented home in Cape Town.

Sources in the DA said Waters, who belongs to a camp that opposes Maimane’s leadership, first confronted him about the house at a meeting of the national management committee on Wednesday last week. Two days later, on the Friday, an unrelenting Waters once more took on Maimane at the federal executive meeting.

The Sunday Times maintains that the confrontation was confirmed by “a person with knowledge of the matter”, although they downplayed the incident and said it was more of a “general discussion”.

In another tweet yesterday, Maimane spoke of a smear campaign:

Yes, person who is chomping at the bit to type ‘but what about the ANC and the EFF’ in the comments below, we know.

It’s just not a good look, and South Africa’s official opposition party should know better than to allow these things to happen.

All it does is allow these kinds of politicians to undermine the good work the DA does, and sow doubt in the minds of potential voters:

Get your house in order, Mmusi and the DA, because this country needs at least one opposition party that it can trust.

[sources:news24&sundaytimes]