IN a case that has raised eyebrows and likely to upset civil servants clamouring for a salary review, Government recently bought 40 top-of-the-range vehicles that have been distributed among Ministers in the inclusive Government, The Patriot can exclusively reveal. The development comes hard on the heels of reports that legislators from the country’s main political parties are demanding to be paid compensation by Government for not serving their full term. Information gathered shows that the 40 Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles, which cost a staggering US$45 000 each before import duty, were delivered to Government ministers three weeks ago. They were reportedly purchased by CMED (Pvt) Ltd whose officials last week confirmed the purchase and the delivery of the vehicles. Contacted for comment, Finance Minister Tendai Biti said Government had not availed any funds for the purchase of vehicles. He advised this reporter to talk to CMED officials since they dealt with ‘those issues’. Pressed to comment on how CMED could purchase any vehicles when they had not been allocated any funds by his Ministry, Biti was evasive, maintaining that he had not released any funds for the cars. “It is not true that we have bought any cars for any Government minister because we have not allocated any funds for that,” said Biti. “The best people to talk is CMED and but …, but we have not bought any cars for ministers because we have no money.” However, CMED officials said they had processed the car transaction and delivered them to the ministers. “We did deal with that transaction about three weeks ago and the ministers are now driving the cars as we speak right now,” said an official who refused to be identified. According to autos.aol.com website, the Jeep Grand Cherokee retains Jeep’s legendary offroad prowess while providing many luxurious and technical amenities. The Grand Cherokee is available in either a two- or four-wheel drive configuration. The available trims are Laredo, Limited, and the high performance SRT8. The Laredo and Limited trims feature a standard 210-hp 3.7-litre V6, and a 5.7-litre V8 Hemi is optional. The SRT8 trim is powered by a 6.1-litre 420-hp V8. Power is delivered through a standard five-speed automatic transmission. Standard safety features for all Grand Cherokees include an electronic stability programme, four-wheel anti-lock disc brakes with brake assist, traction control, a tyre pressure monitoring system, and side-curtain air bags. A multimedia infotainment system with 30-gigabyte hard drive, navigation system and UConnect wireless connectivity, is available.