My Interesting Conversation with anti-V8s MP

Zakaria Matur Makur (ZMM) –Runbek Centre County: They are expensive and take a lot money.

PTA: Why now?

ZMM: It should have been anytime.

PTA: What do you mean?

ZMM: The main duty of the government is to provide services to the people. But we have been purchasing luxurious cars for people to travel to offices. We wasted a lot of money. There was no electricity in our Juba Teaching Hospital last week. What do you think happened to the patients?

PTA: Now that the parliament have backed your motion and asked the ministers of transport and finance to draft a government policy regulating purchase of V8s, what do you think the money saved will be put to?

ZMM: If you take national assembly as institution, we buy 36 V8s every two years. Multiply that number by 122,000 USD and tell me the results. There is no reason to put such a huge sum of money on cars when we don’t have hospitals, no clean drinking water, poor sanitation and no food and roads. We wasted more than 55 million dollars on V8s — there are 500 V8s in this young country already. If the parliament cut it spending and save ten million [South Sudanese] pounds, we can build a world standard hospital that people around the world will come here for treatment.

PTA: Are you now happy with the parliament’s resolution? Have you won?

ZMM: You have also won. Not me alone. All South Sudanese needs services. We need good roads, not good cars.

PTA: Have you ever being driven in V8 car?

ZMM: Yes–for one month when I was an advisor in Lakes state.

PTA: How was it?

ZMM: [Laughter]. I left that position and became an MP in Juba. I did not take the V8 with me. Even today, I am still demanding 400,000 SSP from the government of Lakes state but I cannot take public car, holding it hostage in order to get my money. I will continue asking for the money but what is important is to change this trend of spending money and usage of public vehicles.

PTA: Perhaps you don’t want others to taste the pride that comes with driving V8!

ZMM: I am saying that I want any little money saved, say one pound, from this spending to be put to proper use. That is all.

PTA: Assuming that your motion becomes a national policy, how will it be implemented? — because having a policy is one and implementing it is another.

ZMM: I know it will be difficult to implement but many people are appreciating this motion. I have told my colleagues, the MPs, to delete any money allocated to buying V8s in the next budget [2015/2016]. We shall delete any money going to buying V8s for ministries. As long as I am here, I hope the policy will be made and implemented.

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