Gauteng - A luxury vehicle purchased for Sedibeng District Municipality executive mayor Lerato Maloka is reportedly gathering dust at the municipality’s offices.
The mayor allegedly refuses to use the car, claiming that it was not purchased according to her specifications.
The vehicle - a Mercedes-Benz GLB - came with a price tag of R696 611.99.
This information was revealed by the Gauteng MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Lebogang Maile, in a written reply to a question posed by the DA’s head of constituency in the Emfuleni region, Kingsol Chabalala, who tabled questions in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL).
According to Maile, the vehicle was brand new and procured under the National Treasury Transversal Contract RT57-2019/2022 from Mercedes-Benz South Africa and followed the Cost Containment Regulations 2019 (Gazette 42517 of June 2019).
The vehicle has since been vinyl-wrapped in gloss black at a total cost of R29 300.85. However, the mayor is still refusing to use the car.
Chabalala described the move by the mayor as “ridiculous” in light of the fact that the municipality faces a financial crisis and is unable to deliver adequate services to its residents.
Chabalala maintained that the residents of Sedibeng don’t have access to tarred roads, while some roads were full of potholes owing to the lack of a proper road maintenance programme.
He also revealed that the municipality had inadequate sanitation mechanisms as raw sewerage flowed over the streets from the main sewer system.
“It is a total waste of the municipality’s money and a shame that the mayor wants to feed her ego at the expense of our people.
“Considering the current financial status of the Sedibeng District Municipality, the mayor must spend less on luxuries and focus more on service delivery,” Chabalala said.
He said the DA would table follow-up questions in the provincial legislature to ascertain what type of vehicle the mayor currently uses, where the vehicle comes from and whether or not the vehicle has been hired.
Chabalala will also probe how much the municipality spends per month on the vehicle and what will happen to the vehicle that was bought for the mayor.
Political Bureau