Minister Maropene Ramokgopa faces allegations of accepting three luxury BAIC SUVs donated for the ANC Women’s League and passing them to family members without disclosure. The claims follow similar accusations against Minister Sisisi Tolashe last week. Both ministers deny receiving vehicles from Chinese officials.
Daily Maverick reports that Minister of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Maropene Ramokgopa allegedly received three BAIC X55 SUVs in late 2023, intended as donations for the ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) from Chinese representatives. At the time, Ramokgopa served as ANCWL national coordinator, while Sisisi Tolashe was president. The minister did not declare the vehicles in the Parliament Register of Members’ Interests for 2023, 2024, or 2025.
Ramokgopa’s spokesperson, Phetole Rampedi, stated, “The minister has never received any cars from Chinese officials.” Investigators traced one yellow BAIC X55 registered to her son, Xhantilomzi Ntuli, on 30 January 2024. Sources allege another was used by her mother in Limpopo and a third by associates of Luvo Makasi in an Eastern Cape township near Whittlesea, where residents confirmed sightings of a red BAIC X55 linked to the Makasi family.
The ANC and ANCWL maintain they have no record of the donation, possibly linked to China’s embassy in Pretoria under former ambassador Chen Xiaodong. BAIC South Africa denied knowledge of the vehicles. Tolashe previously told Parliament the cars were for the ANCWL and required no declaration.
Ramokgopa, a close ally of President Cyril Ramaphosa and ANC Top Seven member, visited a BAIC plant in Gqeberha in May 2025. The allegations, if proven, could pose challenges for the president, as both ministers held roles in the Presidency during the purported donations.
