DA objects to mayor’s new luxury car

MERC WHICH WAS SIX MONTHS OLD DAMAGED IN AN ACCIDENT Matlosana municipality has been paying for a leased car for Kgaile.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is appalled that the mayor of Matlosana municipality in North West, Maetu Kgaile, wants a new R1 million car after her sixmonth-old Mercedes-Benz was crashed by her driver, the party said yesterday.

The DA would ask the Matlosana municipal public accounts committee to investigate the circumstances that led to Kgaile’s official car being crashed and why a brand new R1 million car was needed, DA councillor Patrick Sesana said.

The mayor’s Mercedes-Benz was involved in a car accident six months after its purchase and the ANC in Matlosana was requesting that R1 million be paid to buy the mayor a new BMW X5, he said.

The DA demanded to know, among other things, whether the mayor’s driver had been trained in advance driving – a skill required to be a driver for the mayor; if the mayor was on official duty at the time of the accident; if the driver tested for sobriety at the time; and why there had been no medical report on injuries sustained and no report on damage.

“To add insult to injury, since the accident, the mayor has made use of a leased luxury car. The bill for this lease is being paid by the municipality and is mounting up but is not being disclosed by the mayor’s office,” said Sesana.

“The DA will request the municipal manager to immediately make this amount known or face a demand for information in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act. The municipality has a culture of financial mismanagement and wasteful expenditure.”

The municipality could not be reached for comment. – ANA