/ MEDIA STATEMENT / The content on this page is not written by Polity.org.za, but is supplied by third parties. This content does not constitute news reporting by Polity.org.za.

The DA will be writing to the Auditor-General (AG) to highlight the mind-blowing expenses incurred by the struggling ANC/EFF-governed Sarah Baartman District Municipality during the 2022-2023 financial year

Financial reports tabled at a council meeting last month highlighted the shocking state of a dysfunctional administration.

The municipality’s internal audit committee reported to council that R1 million was spent on overseas travel by the executive mayor, his mayoral committee members, and officials with little to no benefit to residents. The DA has already reported this luxurious expense to the EC MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) and National Treasury.

The municipality spent R470 000 on catering and groceries, R45 200 on personal protective equipment, R42 000 on garden tools (although the municipality does not have any gardens to maintain), R270 000 on beanies, branded jackets, scarves, umbrellas, and toiletries, and R76 000 on cleaning material. The municipality also bought and supplied two waste bins at a cost of R165 000, while the actual cost should have been only R18 000 per bin.

The municipality should rather have invested in service delivery, such as much needed fire trucks for the Ndlambe and Koukamma Local Municipalities, and building capacity in struggling local municipalities

The DA will request of the AG to institute a forensic investigation into these expenditure items not related to improving the lives of the people within the district.

Furthermore, the municipality lost R351 000 in conditional grant funding relating to the Rural Roads Access Management Grant (RRAMS) due to it being unspent and must now be paid back to National Treasury.

Irregular expenditure of R1,478 million, as well as R107 000 in fruitless and wasteful expenditure were also incurred over the past financial year.

The municipality's SOE, the Cacadu Development Agency, is costing the taxpayer R18,3 million per year, yet only R148 000 went towards possible investment and development projects, while R5 million was spent on salaries.

We will also table detailed questions regarding these reports at the next council meeting in January 2024 to hold the ANC/EFF coalition to account.

The DA will continue its fight to rescue the people of the Sarah Baartman District. The publics’ money must be respected and used where it will have a meaningful impact - not as a piggy bank for corrupt politicians and officials.

Issued by Alderman Henni Britz - DA Sarah Baartman Caucus