THE Democratic Alliance (DA) in eThekwini has rejected a proposal by the ruling ANC to pay over R2 million, over two financial years, to 153 VIP bodyguards to buy suits and formal clothing.
According to the proposal tabled in a recent EXCO meeting, only 14 members currently receive a ‘clothing allowance’ and it was therefore proposed that the remaining VIP protectors be paid R1200 each per month to buy formal clothing to “uphold the city’s image”.
This will cost R478 064 in this financial year and R1 569 600 in the following year.
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Commenting on this, Thabani Mthethwa, DA EThekwini Chief Whip, said: “eThekwini Municipality has a huge number of politicians who are currently guarded, while ordinary citizens are left to fend for themselves. Metro Police’s massive overtime bill is largely due to protection and security for councillors and politicians. The public currently receives abysmal services from the city, with many key departments citing budget problems. If the municipality doesn’t have money to deliver basic services and serve communities, how does it have money to ensure bodyguards wear suits?”
Mthethwa said eThekwini claims they’ve used other metro municipalities for benchmarking, but fail to explain whether any other metro has such a huge number of VIP bodyguards.
“This is a ridiculous abuse of ratepayers’ money and clearly shows the ANC’s skewed priorities. The DA will continue to fight in the interest of eThekwini residents to ensure that money is spent on basic services,” he said.
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