Call for investigation into ANC councillors’ unapproved R27k trip
BUFFALO City Metro council opposition parties have called for an investigation into a payment of R27 000 for two ANC councillors’ accommodation, flights bookings and car hire which were not approved by the mayor.
This comes after the Daily Dispatch reported in April that two senior BCM ANC councillors used ratepayers’ money to settle their travel and hotel expenses despite Eastern Cape premier Phumulo Masualle securing free travel to the event they attended last year.
At the last council meeting, the DA councillors demanded answers about the spending of ratepayers’ funds.
Their questions were supported by the EFF and ECDP who called for council speaker Alfred Mtsi to investigate the matter.
The bill was from BCM’s travel agents, Aloe Travel, for hotel accommodation, flight bookings and car hire for councillors Sindiswa Gomba and Ayanda Mapisa, as well as former ward 37 ANC councillor Nokuku Marwanqa.
The trio were not metro councillors when they travelled to Pretoria in August to take part in the 60th anniversary celebrations of the 1956 women’s march against pass laws.
However, Gomba wrote to deputy mayor Zoliswa Matana, who was outgoing speaker at the time, asking for funding for the trio’s travelling costs.
This was despite then-mayor Alfred Mtsi approving the train trip “subject to no financial implications to the municipality for travelling and meals to the national event”.
The Dispatch reported that on the same day, July 29, then-speaker Zoliswa Matana defied Mtsi’s orders and asked head of special programmes Ncumisa Sidukwana’s office to book flights, accommodation and car hire for the trio.
Sidukwana later paid the R27 000 bill which included R12 095 for their two-night stay at the Southern Sun Pretoria, a R15 258 bill for flights between East London and O R Tambo International, as well as R2 527 for a car Gomba hired while in Pretoria
Masualle’s office coordinated the event and assigned all six district municipalities and two metros to recruit 900 women to take the train trip.
Now the DA wants to know in what capacity the three attended the celebration and “what specific legislative provisions permitted the use of municipal funds for the participation of the selected councillors at the celebration?”
The notice of questions was submitted to council by DA councillor Terence Fritz who said the celebration was an initiative of Masualle’s office and was funded by the office.
He said according to the Municipal Finance Management Act, the accounting office or official of a municipality commits an act of financial misconduct if that accounting officer deliberately or negligently instructs another official of the municipality to make an unauthorised, irregular or fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
The party has asked for all the costs which BCM paid for the trip.
“If an investigation was conducted, what is the outcome of that investigation? If investigations have not been carried out, why not?” questioned Fritz.
EFF’s councillor Thembinkosi Apleni said the allegation was serious and needed to be investigated.
Angry ANC councillors, including Xolani Witbooi and Luleka Simon-Ndzele, criticised the questions.
Mtsi said he would explore the relevance of the questions and would have to report back to council concerning the matter. —