Fury over R1m BMW for mayor of broken town

Council funds used to buy ANC head of Taung luxury SUV — as townsfolk languish in poverty

THE mayor of one of the poorest areas in South Africa — where some residents do not have running water or sanitation — has splashed out on a R1-million car for himself using public money.

Kaone Lebelo, mayor of Taung in North West, this week took possession of a white BMW X5 in contravention of a government instruction that all public office-bearers cut spending on expensive cars.

Lebelo’s extravagance has got up some noses. A fellow ANC councillor, Moreotsile Olifant, said councillors would seek answers from the mayor at the next council sitting.

“We still have to receive a report. We know a car had to be purchased, but we don’t have information on how that was done,” said Olifant.

An opposition leader in the council said Lebelo’s choice of vehicle could not be justified.

“He could have bought a cheaper car,” he said. “It is only a year before our term finishes. Why is he in such a rush?”

The councillor, who asked not be named “because of political dynamics”, said the municipality was totally reliant on government grants.

The councillor claimed no bidding processes were followed in buying the new car and the municipal manager, Katlego Gabanakgosi, “went straight to BMW”.

Gabanakgosi denied this on Friday, and said the car had not yet been collected.

But a salesman at BMW Mafikeng confirmed that the car had been picked up by a municipal employee on Wednesday, the day one of our sister publications broke the story.

He said he believed it was now parked at the municipal garage, awaiting registration.

Gabanakgosi defended the purchase, saying the vehicle — for which the municipality paid R915 000 — had been budgeted for.

He said there was a need for a new car because the mayor’s old Mercedes-Benz ML350, which he inherited from his predecessor, had 300 000km on the clock. “It has become so unreliable and costly,” Gabanakgosi said.

He said it was only in the latest financial year that the council had been able to budget for a new vehicle.

Asked how the mayor could justify spending so much on a car in a poverty-stricken area, Gabanakgosi said: “I cannot respond on behalf of the mayor.”

The decision to spend nearly R1-million on a car appeared to fly in the face of a cabinet decision to cut spending on vehicles, which was communicated by then finance minister Pravin Gordhan in 2013.

In contrast, one of South Africa’s richest municipalities, eThekwini metro, abided by the cabinet instruction when it needed a new fleet.

The metro recently spent a total of R3-million on six cars to be used by mayor James Nxumalo, his deputy and the office of the speaker.

The money was drawn from eThekwini’s budget of R35.8- LUXURY CAR: A BMW X5, the model that the North West town of Taung bought its mayor Kaone Lebelo for nearly R1-million billion. In comparison, Taung’s budget is a mere R201-million.

Taung has one of the highest unemployment rates in South Africa, and life for many residents is bleak. The municipality’s recent annual report revealed that 60% of residents have no flushing toilets and 28% have no access to piped running water.

The report showed there are about 2 000 untarred roads in the area.

Accountant-general Michael Sass of the National Treasury said that although Lebelo had not broken any law, the purchase of the BMW was “morally wrong” and the Treasury frowned upon it.

“The ministerial handbook has not been updated, but the process is under way to change it” and make it illegal to spend so much money on a vehicle, Sass said.

The Taung municipality does not have a good record when it comes to finances.

It received a disclaimer from the auditor-general in the last financial year because it could not provide audit evidence for its R90-million infrastructure assets.

It also accrued “unauthorised, fruitless and wasteful expenditure” amounting to millions of rands, and the auditorgeneral found a number of cases in which tender processes were not followed.

In recent months, residents have expressed their unhappiness about the lack of development.

Earlier this year, residents of Manokwane, about 10km from Taung, protested against “irregularities” to do with the laying of a tar road. After a protracted court battle a new contractor was appointed, but has yet to start the project.

In the rainy season roads become impassable for school children, and community members feel they are missing out on economic opportunities.

“I think it’s time we blocked this road again. They are wasting our time,” said one resident.

An RDP housing project stands completed but a number of houses are not inhabited, and some of the brickwork has been stolen.

“Nobody can tell me why these houses are standing empty. And when it rains, these outside toilets flood,” said local councillor John Moncho.

In the greater Taung area, residents accused local chiefs of policies that discouraged investors from creating jobs.

Sass said the purchase was ‘morally wrong’ and the Treasury frowned on it