Fikile Mbalula rocking a Rolex watch. Picture: Twitter/@MbalulaFikile.
“Service delivery is temporary, but drip is forever.”
That’s what Fikile Mbalula probably had in mind when he purchased one of the most expensive brands in the world, a Rolex watch.
The past few days have been busy, with the national shutdown and Mbalula being a menace on Twitter about how much of a flop it was, forgetting that if the party he strongly believes in did its job correctly, then there wouldn’t be a need for a shutdown, to begin with.
And while the people of South Africa were complaining about potholes on the roads, lack of proper public transport and so forth, the former minister of transport was granted another prominent position by President Cyril Ramaphosa during his Cabinet reshuffle.
Mbalula was appointed as the secretary-general of the ANC.
To celebrate his new position, the King of Amampondomise, Luzuko Matiwane, held a ceremony to welcome Mbalula.
The two-day celebration in Qumbu, Eastern Cape, saw Mbalula in the most expensive gear.
Besides his brown outfit completed by Umbhaco (Xhosa traditional gear), Mbalula wore a Rolex GMT Master 2 Pepsi watch, which costs between R182 200 and R178 700 from a credible Rolex retailer like The Vault.
Depending on the model, resellers like Peter Machlup sell the Rolex GMT Master 2 Pepsi 2016 for R721 059.38.
Some tweeps expressed their concerns about Mbalula flaunting his expensive watch while his former office (transport department) is in shambles.
Shameful to see ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula flaunt a R827k Rolex while SA's railway system was destroyed during his time as transport minister. Leaders should serve the people, not themselves. Time for accountability and responsibility #ShutdownSA pic.twitter.com/dzkC6FJ8mU
— MasimbaMedia✍🏿 (@MasimbaNews) March 19, 2023
It’s not shocking to see politicians in expensive gear. Even the ones who wear red overalls in Parliament, claiming to represent the people, pair those overalls with expensive brands like Gucci or Louis Vuitton.
The sad part is that they get paid a lot using taxpayers’ money, yet fail dismally with service delivery.