The hoohah around the leader of the DA’s publicly funded fleet of cars, blue lights and associated concerns about lavish accommodation for cabinet ministers, raises an issue the DA has railed against in the past but may have lost sight of after its inclusion at an ANC cabinet table that is groaning with goodies.
Of course MPs should be properly paid, but the taxpayer should not be footing the bill for a plethora of perks unrelated to service. Why? Because perks are the gateway drug to entitlement, and entitlement is the enemy of accountability.
The trust deficit in our politics has never been higher. Every time a new scandal breaks about an MP’s self-elevated status or manipulation of expense claims, the public groans and memes practically create themselves. Perks like these create a chasm between politicians and the people they’re supposed to serve. It’s not just the money; it’s the principle: if MPs are too busy upgrading their airline seats to “premium” while the rest of us are stuck in the middle seat next to a crying baby, can they really claim to understand the everyday struggles of voters?
By all means, pay MPs well. Fair pay is crucial to attract competent people to public service. As the saying goes, if you pay peanuts you’ll attract monkeys — and opportunists with side hustles waiting to exploit loopholes. But when it comes to non-essential perks — luxury travel or subsidised lunches that make your office canteen look like a soup kitchen — MPs should cover those costs themselves. After all, shouldn’t public servants be serving the public?
When politicians stop behaving like the master-of-the-universe consultants they hire they may avoid the pitfalls these companies have fallen into — the combination, as seen recently, is often toxic.
So let’s talk traps. Politics is full of snares that can derail even the most well-meaning MP. The first is the money trap: dodgy deals, “consulting fees”, tender paybacks, and mysterious offshore accounts that seem to pop up faster than toast. The solution? Radical transparency. More rigour is needed for accountable asset disclosure and side gigs that conflict with their duties should be banned outright. If an MP’s focus isn’t 100% on the job, they shouldn’t have the job.
Next, we have the honey trap. This isn’t just spy-thriller stuff; it’s the real danger of being compromised through personal vulnerabilities, be it affairs, blackmail or just poor judgment. MPs need training to recognise — and punitive processes to avoid — these pitfalls. Some carrot and a bit of stick goes a long way.
Finally, there’s the ego trap, which is arguably the hardest to avoid. Nothing inflates the human ego quite like applause, TV appearances, a blue tick on social media or arrival — as Fikile Mbalula, ANC secretary-general, recently demonstrated — in a flashy yacht. Ego-driven decisions are dangerous; they lead to grandstanding, divisive rhetoric and policies that serve personal ambition over public interest. The fix? Collaborative decision-making processes that reward results, not photo ops.
MPs should be expected to live by the same rules they legislate for everyone else. Think of it as politics on a diet — trimming the fat and getting leaner, meaner and more focused on the job. Imagine MPs having to justify their existence like the rest of us in annual performance reviews, and the worst-performing MPs handed a termination of employment letter instead of lifelong pensions?
It’s time to stop treating politics like a members-only country club, as DA leader John Steenhuisen is wont to say each time he welcomes new MPs to “the most exclusive club in the country”. It is surely time to demand that MPs know the price of bread — not the cost of caviar.
But hey, if that’s too much to ask at least we’ll get some great memes out of the whole ordeal. But wouldn’t it be nice to laugh with our politicians for a change, instead of at them?
• Cachalia is a former DA MP and public enterprises spokesperson.
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