The Cost of Power and Prestige

David Bishop, former news editor, reflects on the necessity of luxurious vehicles for those in the lofty positions

In last month’s column I wrote about respect and how willing we seem to freely dish it out. Core to that idea, and something I did not manage to touch on, are the “trappings of power” afforded to those we have elevated; trappings they may not actually deserve or which they should perhaps not be entitled to. How fitting then that only a day or two after I had submitted that column, I was passed on the road by a brand-new Land Rover Defender 110 with Southern African Customs Union (SACU) number plates.

I’ll pause here to quickly point out that according to cars.co.za the new Land Rover Defender 110 costs anywhere between 1.8 and 3 million Namibian dollars. The local dealer does not even list their prices, instead asking you to get in touch for a quote.

SACU, which was formed in 1910, lists various objectives on their website, including “facilitating the cross-border movement of goods between the territories of the member states”, “promoting conditions of fair competition”, “facilitating the equitable sharing of revenue arising from customs, excise and additional duties” and “enhancing the economic development, diversification, industrialisation and competitiveness of member states”. I suppose it could be argued that the purchase of a multi-million-dollar vehicle boosted Namibia’s economy, or at least the balance sheet of Bidvest Namibia, which owns Novel Land Rover.

The reason for vehicles with SACU plates driving around Namibia is because the SACU Secretariat is based in Windhoek – you can see their building on your left when driving up Julius K. Nyerere Street towards Robert Mugabe Avenue. The Secretariat is responsible for the day-to-day administration of SACU and is funded from the shared revenue pool – money that would otherwise be shared among the member states according to the agreedupon shared revenue formula. I am not suggesting that the Secretariat is unnecessary, but with a significant percentage of our national budget made up of receipts from this fund, it is worth asking whether those employed by the Secretariat really need to drive new Land Rover Defenders to carry out their functions.

I am singling out the SACU Secretariat because of the car that I saw, but of course it is not just them; our ministers, deputy ministers, executive directors, etc. all drive expensive cars, and while the local dealerships are surely happy about it, we need to ask if they really need them.

There are some examples of people in power seeming to shun the excesses that so often come with it, such as former Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, who famously cycled to and from work rather than travel in a cavalcade, or perhaps most famously of all, José Mujica, who was dubbed “The World’s Poorest President” due to his super austere lifestyle which included driving his old 1987 Volkswagen Beetle, refusing to move from his wife’s farm to the luxurious house provided for the president, and donating about 90 percent of his salary to charity. They both seem to have been able to do their jobs well enough!

The Kenyan government under then President Mwai Kibaki also tried to do away with the large luxury vehicles driven by government officials, ordering that all official vehicles must have an engine capacity of less than 1800cc, while all vehicles with larger engines that were in use at the time were to be handed back to be sold. In this case it was, admittedly, more to do with the government wanting to save money on their fuel bill than humility. But while it was reported at the time that President Kibaki declined eight vehicles bought for his office without his authority, the policy did not seem to last very long. According to a friend of mine who lives in Kenya, the Kenyan government officials can be seen today driven around in the newest Lexus 4x4 SUVs.

“So what?” some of you may be thinking, “CEOs and MDs also drive big expensive cars that the companies they work for often buy for them.” True, but in that case, it is up to the shareholders to decide if they want to kick up a fuss about the allocation of resources. In the case of government, SACU, or any other taxpayer-funded entities, we should surely have a say, and we should be asking if the person driving that expensive vehicle really needs it to carry out their function, and whether 1.8 to 3 million Namibian dollars could not be better spent than on a depreciating asset.

Until next month, enjoy your journey.

David Bishop