Durban ICC charged R761 000 for funeral
DURBAN: The eThekwini Municipality has spent more than R750 000 on the funeral of prominent Durban businessman Don Mkhwanazi.
Mkhwanazi, considered one of President Jacob Zuma’s backers, died of a heart attack on July 1 and was buried a week later. His funeral service was held at the Durban International Convention Centre (ICC).
City manager Sbu Sithole was at pains trying to explain yesterday how the municipality’s contribution of R761 000 only went towards booking the venue at the Durban ICC.
Mkhwanazi’s widow, Zodwa Msimang, sits on the ICC board.
The expenditure was among a raft of Rule of Order 28 requests approved by Sithole and former mayor James Nxumalo during the election recess. This rule allows for a mayor and the municipal manager to make emergency payments while council is in recess.
A furious debate has been raging in city hall for some time on how much the city could spend on a civil funeral, as the city’s policy is not clear. The policy is being reviewed.
DA provincial and eThekwini caucus leader Zwakele Mncwango said it was important to understand the expenditure, “as the act is clear, there must be reasons provided for such expenditure”.
He said: “It concerns me that we still have this funeral policy outstanding. Now, we are told that the city is spending R761 000 on a funeral. It doesn’t make sense to me what this money was used for. We are talking about a ‘prominent businessman’ who surely had covers for a funeral of such magnitude.”
He said it was astounding and a “concern”.
“It’s an insult to say just because we are in recess, let’s use this much money. Never before have we requested R500 000 for a funeral even for our own councillors,” he said.
To rub salt in the wound, the city had only contributed R15 000 each towards the funerals of the eight children who were burnt to death in the fire that gutted the Lakehaven/Zamani Child and Youth Care Centre in July.
“How do we, as councillors in the executive committee, go to the public and explain this? I can’t,” said Mncwango.
Sithole explained that the cost could be down to “some of our gaps in our civil funeral policy”.
“By and large this was purely a venue issue. It wasn’t any other cost other than the venue – the Durban ICC,” he said.
He added that Mkhwanazi’s funeral was “almost like a national funeral given the stature of the person”.
“We took into account the contribution of this person to this city and the status (national funeral). There was no other venue we could have got in the city that could accommodate the status of this funeral,” he said.
Mayor Zandile Gumede said she would submit a “full report” in next week’s meeting.
She warned that it was not proper to discuss a late person as this would seem as if councillors were not sympathetic towards the Mkhwanazi family.
“Even if your issue is valid, I don’t think we should continuously talk about it,” she said.
Durban ICC sales and marketing manager, Scott Langley, said the entity would not comment as it was “bound by its confidentiality agreement with its clients”.