/ 4 January 2011

Call for speeding Free State minister to resign

The Free State provincial minister caught driving at 235km/h needs to resign immediately from the provincial executive council, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Tuesday.

“He has set a terrible example and there can be no excuse for this sort of behaviour, especially from an elected representative,” DA spokesperson Stuart Farrow said in a statement.

“There has been a trend of public officials found guilty of crimes not facing any real consequence and continuing to draw salaries from the public purse. This must come to an end.”

The minister for sport, arts, culture and recreation in the Free State, Dan Kgothule, was found guilty of reckless and negligent driving after he was caught speeding in his BMW 745 on the N1 freeway in Glen, outside Bloemfontein, on Thursday.

He is to be sentenced in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

The DA said Transport Minister Sbu Ndebele needed to be “leading the charge” for Kgothule’s resignation.

The Free State government was not immediately available for comment. — Sapa