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The Mercedez-Benz GLB (X247) ZA vehicle which was bought for the Executive Mayor of Sedibeng District Municipality, Cllr Lerato Maloka is gathering dust at the Municipality’s offices as the mayor is refusing to use the car claiming that it was not bought according to her specifications.

Mayor Maloka is refusing to use the vehicle which cost taxpayers R696 611.99. This is ridiculous considering that the municipality is facing a financial crisis and is unable to deliver adequate services to its residents.

The residents of Sedibeng do not have access to tarred roads and some of the roads that are tarred are full of potholes as there is no proper regular maintenance of roads.

There is also a lack of proper sanitation as raw sewerage is flowing all over the streets from the main sewer system because the municipality has failed to maintain the sewer pipes.

This information was revealed by the Gauteng MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Lebogang Maile in a written reply to my questions tabled in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL).

According to MEC Maile, the vehicle was brand new and procured under the National Treasury Transversal Contract RT57-2019/2022 from Mercedez-Benz South Africa and followed the Cost Containment Regulations 2019 (Gazette 42517 of June 2019).

The vehicle has since been vinyl-wrapped in gloss black for a total cost of R29 300.85, however, the mayor is still refusing to use the car.

It is a total waste of the municipality’s monies and a shame that the mayor wants to feed her ego at the expense of our people.

Considering the current financial status of the Sedibeng District Municipality, the mayor must spend less on luxuries and focus more on service delivery.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) will be tabling follow-up questions in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL) to ascertain what type of vehicle the mayor current using; where the vehicle comes from; whether or not the vehicle has been hired; how much the municipality spends per month on the vehicle; how much the municipality has spent so far and what will happen to the vehicle that was bought for the mayor.

Where the DA governs in municipalities across Gauteng, we have engaged with our mayors to continue using the old vehicles that were used by the previous mayors. If there is a need to change the vehicle, it must not be extravagant and be a misuse of taxpayers’ money which is meant for service delivery.

It is high time that all other mayors should learn from the DA by putting service delivery first to improve the lives and wellbeing of our people.

Issued by DA Emfuleni North Constituency Head, Kingsol Chabalala MPL