There’s a lot you could do with R2.6m. You could fix somewhere between 500 and 1,100 potholes, on the transport ministry’s numbers. You could provide minimum-wage employment to 50-odd general workers for a year. You could feed about 60 households for 12 months — or the Joburg council for four or five sittings, given figures quoted by News24. Or you could say: “To hell with it, let’s blow it all on one big party.”
Which is precisely what the City of Joburg seems to have done — or tried to do. News24 reports that it has had sight of documents showing the city planned a multimillion-rand spending spree to honour the 110-odd employees who’ve worked for the administration for more than 40 years. Think strolling down a R1,800 red carpet, entering a R76,000 venue and being hit by the overpowering stench of R40,000 worth of flowers wilting in the Joburg heat. Then there are the 461 of 500 attendees who will be gifted either a R3,000 watch or a R3,000 puffer jacket. Sorry for the 39 missing out.
No matter. It’s just other people’s money.
The city appears to have been falling over itself to hand R197,000 to an entity called Metropolitan Trading Co (MTC) for the “procurement of corporate branding items and to provide catering and events management services”.
Look at Joburg’s annual report, and you’ll see MTC described as “a broadband network company designed to offer wholesale data services to both public and private entities as well as retail services and provide incidental services on behalf of the city”. Does events planning fall under “incidental services” provided by a company flogging data wholesale?
Incidentally, there seems to have been no request for quotes for any of the above-mentioned items on the procurement section of MTC’s website, going back to April. And, just for the record, the city’s 2022 annual financial statements flag R21m worth of transactions in which supply chain management processes may have been flouted at MTC. (They’ve been referred to the internal auditor.)
As if things couldn’t get any weirder, in June MTC was — apparently without reason — moved from the economic development department to fall under the purview of transport MMC Kenny Kunene, News24 reports. So a sushi party, then.
Of course, this is the self-same Kunene who recently drew the ire of city residents by hosting an opulent Joburg Roads Agency Women’s Day event — on his own dime, apparently — at which the French champagne flowed like a burst city water pipe.
This is the self-same Kunene who recently drew the ire of Joburg residents by hosting an opulent event — on his own dime, apparently — at which the French champagne flowed like a burst city water pipe
In this instance, though, the money was to be taken from the “loco allowance” — the funds city employees are paid when they use their personal vehicles for city work. That fund was only just topped up last year by what was then the DA-led administration after not having been reviewed for more than a decade. As emergency service personnel told The Citizen in 2019, they were still being reimbursed at 2006 AA rates.
Now, with the kitty reloaded, it’s ripe for redistribution — even if that means just siphoning off R2.6m for a party. Why spend another dime on service delivery in a crumbling city riddled with potholes, where water provision is sketchy, hijacked buildings are fire hazards and rates are rocketing?
Pick your favourite, but one of the most infuriating parts of this saga is the response from group corporate & shared services MMC Loyiso Masuku. She said not a cent was spent, despite her only sending the plan back for “reconsideration” less than two weeks before the event was due to take place.
And, she added, those who complained should have “verified the facts”, as “this would eliminate the misinformation and peddling of falsehoods by faceless employees feeding into political squabbles. The city frowns upon the political overreach and interference in administrative processes.”
Don’t stand in the way of the party planners, then. And certainly don’t attempt to play the role of public watchdog.
And yet, mayor and ANC ventriloquist dummy Kabelo Gwamanda is unperturbed, as News24 tells it. Of course, he struggles to keep track of all the different parties in his government of local unity, never mind the plethora of parties being hosted by his administration.
So here’s what we have: a R2.6m party, organised by a broadband company that is housed in a transport department that’s headed by a man known for profligacy in the face of poverty. The party was signed off by various officials, including city manager Floyd Brink, and the mayor knows nothing about it. And when the kibosh was put on it just two weeks before it was due to take place, not a single cent had been spent. Not on venue bookings, or on deposits for flowers, branded items, watches and jackets. Not for the catering, the DJ, the red carpet …
It’s not just that it’s unbelievable; it’s that our odious officials would even try to have us buy the spin.
Of course, R2.6m is a drop in the ocean of debt the city is swimming in. But that anyone decided this was a good idea is indicative of the excess that plagues South Africa’s economic hub. It’s just one more skit in a city that’s taken farce to all new levels — a microcosm of questionable dealings that shows up the venality of our political overlords.
Each month, the city needs R4.3bn to operate, and the ratepayer is being squeezed to make those ends meet. Only, you just need to look around Joburg to see how that money is not being spent.
No, our officials aren’t there to serve us; they’re there to serve themselves. Let them drink Moët, as they say.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.