Durban spends R427 million on Covid-19 expenses

THE CITY of Durban spent a total of R427 million on Covid-19 related expenditures.

This was revealed in a report during the Durban executive council meeting on Tuesday.

The figure was in line with numbers released by the provincial government, confirming eThekwini as the biggest spenders in KwaZulu-Natal.

The report is a compilation of the four-month period between late March and 3 July.

ALSO READ: SA government prepares to close temporary field hospitals as Covid-19 cases decrease

The biggest portion of the spend went towards Metro Police overtime with R88 million, translating to about R20 – R30 million overtime per month.

Krish Kumar, eThekwini Municipality’s Chief Financial Officer praised city officials for keeping costs down. Kumar said the real spend on Covid-19 expenses was around R153 million when you subtract the Metro police overtime costs, temporary homeless shelters and other amenities not directly linked to personal protective equipment.

ALSO READ: SA government prepares to close temporary field hospitals as Covid-19 cases decrease

“The overtime of Metro police is being closely monitored. The police were stretched, we had just under 3000 police but needed 5000 and that?s why there was a need for a lot of overtime,” he said. Kumar said all Covid-19 expenses and contracts will be audited.

In terms of the temporary homeless shelters, Kumar said the city has already started the process of ‘rationalising’ them as the country’s security restrictions ease. The homeless shelter at Moses Mabhida, which housed about 250 people, is one of the temporary shelters that has been discontinued. There was no mention of whether the homeless people were housed in other facilities.

Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting

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At the time of going to press, the contents of this feature mirrored South Africa’s lockdown regulations.

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