Johannesburg - Want to know what gifts your councillors receive and what their financial interests are?
The City of Joburg has opened up its register of interests for inspection by the public, the media and anyone who is interested.
The register was compiled in accordance with the Municipal Systems Act.
People can view the register by going to www.joburg.org.za - councillors page, or make an appointment to go and view it.
Joburg mayor Parks Tau registered gifts worth nearly R10 000, some from businessman Vivian Reddy and others from countries such as Iran.
Others received a weird and wonderful array of freebies, including theatre tickets, hospitality, wines and imported whiskies.
Among Tau’s freebies was R2 000 worth of Viel Armnac Dupeyron vintage wine from the mayor of Paris, a R999 bottle of Johnnie Walker from anonymous, and wine and two glasses, worth R500, from Reddy.
His other gifts included an Orlando Pirates replica jersey, a David Batiste and Gladiators CD, a Grove swing and harmony CD and a DVD from the mayor of Vilnius, Lithuania.
Tau registered a Landrover Discovery V8 as his sole vehicle.
Some of the city’s 260 councillors, however, did not register any gifts at all, but they revealed business interests, including directorships in mining companies, annual earnings well over R2 million, and ownership of properties and luxury cars.
The leader of the pack in terms of money earned was DA councillor Michael Sun, who disclosed earnings of R1.8 million a year. Sun also revealed he owned a house in Dainfern Ridge and is the owner of Sun Attorneys. His cars included a Lexus LS460 and a BMW 750 iL.
MMC for finance Geoff Makhubu revealed he owned at least four vehicles, among them a BMW 330, a Range Rover Super Charge and a BMW X5. He also disclosed directorships of three companies in financial services and IT.
Fellow ANC councillor Bafana Sithole declared he owned two BMW X5s and a 5 series, and a Mini Cooper.
He also revealed he held a 25 percent share in a mining company and others in BHP Billiton, African Bank, Telkom, Aspen and Multichoice, but registered no annual remuneration.
DA councillor Bruce Herbert revealed he held directorships in two farms and earned nearly R800 000 a year from stockbroking.
But surprisingly, some councillors, including the ANC’s Sicelo Gcabashe and Sello Lemao, had nothing to declare.
The Star