THE purchase of a new R700000 vehicle for the mayor of a small rural municipality, reportedly without the blessing of council, is being questioned.
Opposition parties in Mbizana municipality said the new mayoral vehicle was presented to council on Monday – two weeks after being purchased. It is one of the poorest municipalities in the Eastern Cape, and has had poor audit reports.
In the 2012-13 financial year, Mbizana, with its population of more than 240000 people, received an adverse audit opinion. In 2011-12 they received a disclaimer.
Unemployment stands are 43.6% according to the Census 2011 Municipal Fact Sheet, published by Statistics South Africa.
Some councillors said they were surprised to see that mayor Makhaya Twabu had a brand new Jeep Grand Cherokee while others described the purchase as an abuse of power. In documents to council on Monday, it was reported the old Jeep inherited from former mayor Zoleka Busuku was “partially good with ”.
The service plan for the old car had lapsed and it was expensive to maintain.
The administration proposed that council dispose of it.
UDM councillor Isaac Sabuka, however, asked why the new car was bought before being approved by council.
Municipal manager Luvuyo Mahlaka said the municipality advertised for bidders, but did not get satisfactory results. “We then asked for quotes from dealerships and went ahead and bought the car.
“I do not see a basis of looking for another council resolution to say we must go buy the car after we have already informed the council that the vehicle needs to be disposed of,” he said.
Sabuka said if the municipality was not happy with the outcome of its initial advert, it should have readvertised.
“There is something wrong there. If they really did advertise they should have re-advertised it if the first responses were not according to their specifications.
“Before all those processes the matter should have come before council. The MEC should intervene because it is clear that there is no capacity in this municipality.”
African People’s Convention councillor Sonwabile Ngonini said he was shocked to see the new car. “As a councillor, I’m supposed to know when the mayor gets a new car. They only presented the status of the vehicles on Monday never told us about .”
Macalonke Ngesi of the DA said concealing information from council was tantamount to corruption. “Corruption is very high in the municipality.
“We never understand why the municipal manager decided to buy a vehicle for the mayor without informing council. It is abuse of power and it is unfortunate that such things happen in this day and age.”
COPE’s Thamsanqa Khango also slammed Mahlaka for submitting a report to council after buying the mayoral vehicle.
Twabu said the old car had problems. “I was once locked inside and did not open for some time. Sometimes it would stop while I’m driving – on two occasions I could not attend events because I got stuck on my way to the venue.”
Mahlaka defended the purchase, saying the old one had mechanical faults.
“I was told that the vehicle had mechanical faults a month after it was purchased for the former mayor. This was due to something that was installed in the car after it was bought,” Mahlaka said.
“It turns itself off while the mayor is driving. The mileage was also high – it was about 130000km and to maintain it cost a lot of money. Besides that the vehicle was also involved in an accident.”
Mahlaka said there was nothing extravagant about the new mayoral vehicle.
“We bought a 2014 model of the old vehicle, this is not an upgrade. It is not for the mayor but the mayor’s office.”
In 2012, former municipal boss Siphiwe Thobela was subjected to a disciplinary process for allegedly purchasing a vehicle for the speaker’s office without advertising and following procurement processes.
Jobless town buys mayor R700 000 car
Opposition parties in Mbizana municipality said the new mayoral vehicle was presented to council on Monday – two weeks after being purchased. It is one of the poorest municipalities in the Eastern Cape, and has had poor audit reports.
In the 2012-13 financial year, Mbizana, with its population of more than 240000 people, received an adverse audit opinion. In 2011-12 they received a disclaimer.
Unemployment stands are 43.6% according to the Census 2011 Municipal Fact Sheet, published by Statistics South Africa.
Some councillors said they were surprised to see that mayor Makhaya Twabu had a brand new Jeep Grand Cherokee while others described the purchase as an abuse of power. In documents to council on Monday, it was reported the old Jeep inherited from former mayor Zoleka Busuku was “partially good with ”.
The service plan for the old car had lapsed and it was expensive to maintain.
The administration proposed that council dispose of it.
UDM councillor Isaac Sabuka, however, asked why the new car was bought before being approved by council.
Municipal manager Luvuyo Mahlaka said the municipality advertised for bidders, but did not get satisfactory results. “We then asked for quotes from dealerships and went ahead and bought the car.
“I do not see a basis of looking for another council resolution to say we must go buy the car after we have already informed the council that the vehicle needs to be disposed of,” he said.
Sabuka said if the municipality was not happy with the outcome of its initial advert, it should have readvertised.
“There is something wrong there. If they really did advertise they should have re-advertised it if the first responses were not according to their specifications.
“Before all those processes the matter should have come before council. The MEC should intervene because it is clear that there is no capacity in this municipality.”
African People’s Convention councillor Sonwabile Ngonini said he was shocked to see the new car. “As a councillor, I’m supposed to know when the mayor gets a new car. They only presented the status of the vehicles on Monday never told us about .”
Macalonke Ngesi of the DA said concealing information from council was tantamount to corruption. “Corruption is very high in the municipality.
“We never understand why the municipal manager decided to buy a vehicle for the mayor without informing council. It is abuse of power and it is unfortunate that such things happen in this day and age.”
COPE’s Thamsanqa Khango also slammed Mahlaka for submitting a report to council after buying the mayoral vehicle.
Twabu said the old car had problems. “I was once locked inside and did not open for some time. Sometimes it would stop while I’m driving – on two occasions I could not attend events because I got stuck on my way to the venue.”
Mahlaka defended the purchase, saying the old one had mechanical faults.
“I was told that the vehicle had mechanical faults a month after it was purchased for the former mayor. This was due to something that was installed in the car after it was bought,” Mahlaka said.
“It turns itself off while the mayor is driving. The mileage was also high – it was about 130000km and to maintain it cost a lot of money. Besides that the vehicle was also involved in an accident.”
Mahlaka said there was nothing extravagant about the new mayoral vehicle.
“We bought a 2014 model of the old vehicle, this is not an upgrade. It is not for the mayor but the mayor’s office.”
In 2012, former municipal boss Siphiwe Thobela was subjected to a disciplinary process for allegedly purchasing a vehicle for the speaker’s office without advertising and following procurement processes.
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