Council shuts down plans to have municipality pay for councillor funerals

An earlier push to have funerals paid for by ratepayers made official council policy was stopped in its tracks on Wednesday.

Acting Municipal Manager, Sizwe Hadebe, told the executive committee (Exco) meeting in council that the office of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, had said that the law did not allow for this.

“We have been advised by the MEC’s office that the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) does not allow for this,” said Hadebe.

The response means that the efforts by the African National Congress-dominated council to have this made official council policy comes to an end.

In January 2016, council endorsed a move, despite opposition from the Democratic Alliance and Inkatha Freedom Party, to have councillor funerals covered from the city coffers.

The funerals of two former councillors, Garnet Mlete and Thandi Ndlovu, were covered by the municipality, at a combined cost of over half a million rand, which prompted allegations that prices had been inflated by service providers.

ANC councillor Eunice Majola said that while they accepted the MEC’s advice, they would discuss the matter further as they believed their reasons for funeral cover were valid.

DA councillor Glen Mcarthur said they were satisfied and felt vindicated by Cogta’s response on the matter.

“It is our belief that the move was ill conceived, councillors should pay for their funerals, just like ordinary members of the public.”

He cited the prevailing economic climate as one of the reasons that council should not even have started the process.

Last year the ANC was heavily criticised for wanting council to fork out R371,312 for the funeral expenses of Ndlovu who died in June, and then wanting to have it approved as official policy.

Exco member, Dennis Ntombela, said it was important to determine how the money spent on previous funerals would be explained.

“Are we going to have a write-off, or irregular expenditure?”

Hadebe said the answer on the matter was likely to be presented in the next Exco meeting set for next Thursday.

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