The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Ekurhuleni is concerned by the alarming number of investigations underway with both the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) and Special Investigating Unit (SIU) emanating from the Department of Transport Planning.
The latest indictment on this department is a non-existent pedestrian bridge that was to link Zonkizizwe and Palmridge.
Budgeted at R28 million, to date R206 million has been spent.
R11.5 million cannot be accounted for while only R14 million can be accounted for through completion certificates. Completion certificates, we have responsibility to question the validity off, seeing as no bridge exists. This begs the question, what was completed?
Where exactly this R11.5 million has gone is hard to discern as transparency is not a word that is synonymous with this department.
Questions go unanswered from not only officials, but the truth is obscured from Councillors in the oversight committee by the Committee Chair who goes to great lengths to obfuscate and block questions.
Similarly, the Halalisa tertiary road capital project in Katlehong must be dealt with equal suspicion.
Expenditure amounts on this project are vague at best.
The department reallocated R19 506 875 to other projects, labelled as minor roads in Germiston, yet in response to the Oversight Committee, the department claims R1 956 875 was reallocated.
This begs the following questions: how much exactly was reallocated to other projects? How much was the initial budget for this project? What prompted the department to reallocate the funds even though the department has already spent R2 052 625?
DA members of the Oversight Committee have worked tirelessly and fearlessly to have several matters referred to MPAC despite strong opposition from EFF and ANC Councillors.
We have broken the mould where serious matters have been to and froing between departments and officials for many months, in some instances, years, before finally being referred to investigative entities.
The DA will continue to monitor this portfolio diligently and ensure compliance and the maintenance of corporate governance standards while holding the Executive to account. Ekurhuleni as whole, however, needs to be monitored, closely – that much is evident. In this spirit, we will be writing to National Treasury to ensure that the necessary oversight over the City’s finances take place, without which we will surely end up in a metro bankrupted by mismanagement.