The ANC has defended the proposal to spend R25 million of council funds to purchase new vehicles for the eThekwini Municipality’s Security and Protection unit, saying the protection of the political leaders of the council and staff members was important.
The councillors in the Executive Committee (Exco) meeting discussed the purchase on Tuesday.
ANC councillors said the security of councillors and City workers was not something that could be taken lightly considering that some have been attacked and even murdered.
The Mercury reported that a Finance and Emergency Services Portfolio Committee meeting had approved the purchase of the vehicles.
Councillors in that committee said they were informed that among those to get new vehicles would be the mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda, deputy mayor Zandile Myeni, the chairpersons of committees and some City staff.
The proposal cleared a second hurdle on Tuesday after Exco resolved to recommend the purchase to full council. The DA dissented. DA councillor Andre Beetge said the party does not support the spending, adding that the council has many other key service delivery priorities that it should focus on.
“We have seen councillors travelling in a convoy of three cars, with (another car) Golf in the front and yet another Golf at the back. What are you (councillors) so afraid of, why are you so afraid of your own people?” asked Beetge.
ANC councillor Nkosenhle Madlala said he took serious exception to the view that councillors were being protected from their community members.
He said the councillors and staff received protection from criminals.
“It is surprising that councillor Beetge could speak like this and ask why we are afraid of our own people, as he put it. I would have accepted that if that was said by someone who was new in this council.”
Madlala spoke of the many councillors in the City who have been killed.
“They were not killed by their people, they were killed by criminals,” he said.
Madlala said the City’s leaders needed to be protected, adding that the vehicles would not only benefit the political leaders but everyone who was protected, or required protection from the security and protection services unit.
“The unit also protects City workers, we have seen incidents where the workers get attacked and some have even been killed. We could have an incident where someone who is just a clerk gets attacked and we wonder why. It could be because they were doing their work and the criminal did not like that. When they are attacked, only then do we realise that they were in danger,” he said.
Madlala said the argument that the City should forgo the purchase in light of service delivery challenges was “disingenuous”, adding that the security and protection services cluster was carrying out its mandate in protecting officials and councillors.
Meanwhile, exco also approved the purchase of vehicles for service delivery units.
The council will spend about R200 million to purchase new vehicles for the different units.
The report on the vehicles before exco said not replacing its vehicles in a timely manner had led to extensive costs for repairs and left the unit with an unreliable fleet.
The report therefore recommended that the “eThekwini Municipality council approve the budget for the procurement of vehicles for various departments as part of replacement requirements at an estimated value of R200m, inclusive of value added tax, to be funded from savings”.
Beetge said while the DA was in principle in support of the purchase, they needed clarity on the types of vehicles that would be bought and for which units.
The Mercury