Ratepayers’ million Rand questions need answers

IT’S enough to give one that pinched lips look, that crumpled kiss that just sucked a lemon. And it was lemons that had me bemoaning the cost of living and rushing to the nursery to buy a lemon tree. At a few cents shy of R16 for three soft, undersized fruit it’s time to grow my own.

But this isn’t about lemons that life tends to send in groups of three, or making lemon meringue pie or lemonade, it’s about being skinned by the municipality, zest, pips, juice and all, down to almost every last drop of our hard-earned money.

Next week we will feature an in depth look at the proposed new rates structure and what we will be paying for lights, water and other essential services.

We are constantly being told to tighten our belts, that we’re in a recession, that times are tough. All too true but how much more can we fork out before we are paupers dependent on the state?

It was because of the difficulty we are all having in stretching our Rands that I was incensed at the information in an e-mail received from the DA’s eThekwini caucus leader, Zwakele Mncwango, this morning.

This is what it had to say: Every month the municipality spends R3.2 million on bodyguards for 22 of its councillors.

Of these 22 councillors, 19 are from the ANC and three from the NFP.

Each of these councillors has a personal bodyguard who is paid R71 000 a month, a rented car at R22 000 a month, and a driver at R35 000 a month.

The report states that some councillors’ bodyguards are even more expensive at R106 000 a month.

The report asks for an explanation as to why the city is spending millions a month on councillors’ personal security when eThekwini has a Metro Police Department at its disposal that should be providing these services at no extra cost.

The DA suggests that if such security is warranted then the city must incorporate these VIP protection people into the city’s Metro Police as a cost saving measure, and said the whole situation was highly questionable.

As has become usual practice, questions put to the city manager, S’bu Sithole, last week remained unanswered.

The questions posed by the DA caucus were: Why are the prices so inflated? How were these councillors earmarked for VIP protection? How was the security company selected? Why is the Metro Police Department not being used?

As residents, we will all have questions of our own.

To begin with, why is it necessary to spike the rates bill and the cost of basic utilities if we have, among other exorbitant luxury spends, R38.4 million a year superfluous money floating around to pay a group of men in flashy suits carrying big guns and driving fast cars. No doubt they wear dark glasses too. It’s like living in a James Bond movie.

What our city fathers need to realise is that they are driving our citizens out of our city.

They are damaging business, they are turning away industry. They are costing us jobs. We have possibly the most expensive business and residential rates in the country and now they propose to do away with rebates.

The writing is on the wall for greater Durban that the goose that lays the golden egg is sick, very sick indeed, and it will need more than lemons to make it better.