Opposition parties in KwaDukuza Local Municipality on the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal has called for further investigation into the alleged misuse of the mayoral car.
This after the municipality refused to reveal who was using the mayoral back-up van, which the mayor refused to use because it had a mechanical fault.
When new mayor Muzi Ali Ngidi was elected on November 5, 2024 he refused to use the three mayoral cars, two X3 BMWs and a Toyota van, forcing the municipality to hire cars for him and his deputy Njabulo Cele.
However a report presented by the municipality’s fleet management revealed that the van had been in use since the mayor was elected but it could not disclose who had used the car.
In the report which was tabled on Thursday, the municipality acknowledged that the car was being used but added that since it was not fitted with a tracker system for security purposes, its movement would not be known. This angered the opposition parties who demanded further investigation, disputing that the mayoral cars were not fitted with trackers for safety reasons.
ActionSA councillor Halalisani Ndlovu argued that there was no such a policy in the council and demanded further investigation. He said as the opposition they rejected the report and demanded a further investigation, which will reveal who was using the car and where it went to.
“We are rejecting this report because it does not address what we wanted. All we demanded when we called for the investigation three weeks back was who was using the car and for what purpose since it was supposed to be parked waiting for a mechanical checkup. This is a cover-up since the car was spotted delivering school children,” said Ndlovu.
According to the report, in December the car used 542 petrol litres which cost R11,722,48 and in January used 325 litres at the cost of R6,922,80. In these months, the mayor was already using hired cars.
The parties also welcomed Treasury’s decision to turn down the municipality’s request for a new mayoral fleet. The Treasury directed the municipality to fix the old mayoral fleet, arguing that the cars had not reached the required 120,000 kilometre mileage.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) also welcomed the National Treasury’s decision. The party's caucus leader Privi Makhan said if it had been approved by the Treasury, KwaDukuza municipality would have had to include the vehicles in the 2024/25 adjustment budget and that would have taken away funds from services that prioritise residents so that politicians could drive SUV’s.
The investigation into mayoral car misuse allegations was sparked by a previous story which reported that the mayoral back-up van was allegedly spotted inside the Groutville Primary school dropping off children. The Municipality’s spokesperson Sifiso Zulu had not yet responded to a request for comment on the calls for further investigation.