Chinese SUV Donations Haunt Ramaphosa as Two Ministers Face Scandal Over Undeclared Cars
- The Azanian
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
ANCWL president and Social Development Minister Sisisi Tolashe and ANC second deputy secretary-general and Planning Minister Maropene Ramokgopa implicated in luxury vehicle allegations_
By Mpho Dube, Editor-in-Chief, The Azanian
Truth. Fearless. Unfiltered.
Chinese SUV donations are haunting President Cyril Ramaphosa after two of his most senior ANC officials were implicated in a scandal involving luxury vehicles allegedly given by Chinese representatives and never declared.
A daily print media investigation has linked ANC Women’s League president Sisisi Tolashe, who is Minister of Social Development, and ANC second deputy secretary-general Maropene Ramokgopa, who is Minister of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, to the undeclared receipt of BAIC X55 SUVs worth around R500,000 each.
Sources say five BAIC X55 vehicles were donated by Chinese representatives in late 2023, intended for the ANC Women’s League. Instead of reaching the ANCWL, the cars were allegedly split between Tolashe and Ramokgopa and passed on to family members and close associates.
Tolashe is accused of accepting two of the SUVs without declaring them as gifts. Ramokgopa allegedly received the other three. None of the vehicles appear in Parliament’s Register of Members’ Interests for 2023, 2024, or 2025.
Ramokgopa’s spokesperson, Phetole Rampedi, denied the claims: “The minister has never received any cars from Chinese officials.” Yet vehicle registration records show a yellow BAIC X55 was registered to Xhantilomzi Ntuli, Ramokgopa’s son, on 30 January 2024.
Tolashe did not deny to Parliament in February that “two luxury 4x4 vehicles” had been received from “officials representing a foreign government”, but claimed: “The vehicles were donated to the ANCWL and there was therefore no need to declare or record” the cars.
Both the ANC and ANCWL say they have no knowledge or record of the donation. ANCWL Treasurer Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae said: “I don’t know of any cars.”
Sources allege one of Ramokgopa’s SUVs is used by her elderly mother in Limpopo, while another has been seen in Sada township near Whittlesea, Eastern Cape, driven by members of the Makasi family.
Luvo Makasi, former chairperson of the Central Energy Fund and now a bishop, is understood to be a close associate of Ramokgopa. In April 2026, Ramokgopa led an ANC delegation to Makasi’s church for Easter.
Residents in Sada confirmed a red BAIC X55 was well known in the area. “When [Luvo Makasi] came to Sada, he was driving Beijing [the X55],” one neighbour said. No BAIC is formally registered to Makasi.
The scandal strikes at the heart of the Presidency. Both Ramokgopa and Tolashe held positions in the Presidency at the time of the alleged donations:
Ramokgopa as minister in the Presidency for planning, monitoring and evaluation, and Tolashe as deputy minister in the Presidency for women, youth and persons with disabilities.
The allegations are politically damaging for Ramaphosa, who has positioned Ramokgopa as one of his closest allies and a key figure in ANC renewal. Until now, the 46-year-old minister has avoided any suggestion of corrupt conduct.
The Chinese embassy in Pretoria did not respond to repeated requests for comment. BAIC South Africa denied knowledge of the donations. A Dirco official, speaking anonymously, said: “They [Chinese officials] will be watching this closely, but they hate to get drawn into the domestic politics of another country.”
Neither the Presidency nor ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula responded to the matter.With two sitting ministers and top ANC officials implicated, the Chinese SUV donations have moved from a Women’s League issue to a direct test of accountability inside Ramaphosa’s Cabinet.
The Azanian will monitor the situation and provide updates as they develop.
