ADM should learn to live within its means

WAs she is a public official, couldn't the South African Police VIP unit be deployed?

e believe Amathole district municipality was right in providing security to councillor Nanziwe Rulashe. In a country like ours, where crime is so rife and genderbased violence has reached pandemic levels, everything possible should be done to protect those among us who are at risk.

Rulashe’s ordeal started earlier this year when video footage emerged of her being dragged out of her office by people who were said to be the council’s security officers.

The humiliating moment was condemned across SA. A week later, gunshots were fired at her home in East London. Luckily she was not home and no one was injured. At the time she disclosed there had been a string of attempted break-ins at her property in the previous few months.

That her life was at risk is not debatable. However, legitimate questions arise on the bill the ratepayers had to foot for the security.

On Thursday we reported that ADM has splurged close to R1m for four bodyguards to protect Rulashe in three months. On average the council paid each officer R80,000 between February and April. We are told this was the cheapest quote the municipality could get at the time.

It is difficult to understand this amount for a municipality that is not only failing spectacularly in its core business of service delivery but has more than once defaulted on the most basic of its core duties — paying staff salaries.

Surely, if ADM understands the principle of living within one’s means it could have explored alternative means to protect the councillor. As she is a public official by virtue of being a councillor, couldn’t the South African Police VIP unit be deployed to protect her while the municipality looked for service providers with affordable rates?

Amathole’s water and sanitation problems are well documented. With Rulashe’s security bill to date, that money could have built about 100 VIP toilets for ADM residents who are still using the hated bucket system. This paper has reported countless times on how people still share drinking water sources with their domestic animals around ADM.

Already some flags are being raised that the council is over-using a deviation process when procuring goods and services. It might not come as a surprise if the auditor-general finds the transaction for providing Rulashe with her security detail to be irregular expenditure.

Rulashe’s security is important and we say yes to that — but no to unnecessary and careless extravagance. ADM should know its priorities and learn to live within its means.