FORMER president Nelson Mandela received a gift of a brand new Mercedes-Benz S500 on Wednesday. The swanky new limo was given to Madiba by DaimlerChrysler South Africa as a token of appreciation for his services to the country. The hand-over of the R628000 car took place before a large crowd in Carletonville, south-west of Johannesburg. Receiving the new car from DaimlerChrysler SA chief Christoph Kpke, Mandela espressed some embarrassment about being given such an opulent vehicle while there is so much poverty in the land. “As much as we appreciate these presents, one finds it very difficult to reconcile these contradictions,” he said. Mandela’s previous Mercedes, a 500SE built for him by workers at the Mercedes plant in East London, will now go on display at the plant’s museum.