The Democratic Alliance (DA) and other opposition parties found themselves locked out of a full council meeting yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon. This was hotly denied by Speaker Zehra Rassool, who claims the DA and other opposition parties walked out.
Opposition political parties claim they were locked outside during the council meeting after they refused to vote on a council resolution to pay R600,000 in damages to a parking meter company and to honour a parking meter contract council had signed in 2011.
“We did not need to vote, we had already voted in 2011 when we warned council that what they were doing was illegal. They had signed a binding contract with the parking meter company and at the last minute, they welshed on the deal,” explained DA local whip Mike Suddaby. “So we walked out. Officials then locked us out.”
According to the speaker, no one was locked out and once the matter was finished, the opposition parties were called back in.
The opposition then staged a second walk-out when the budget came up to the vote. While opposition parties claim the ANC did not have a quorum, the speaker confirmed that at the time of the actual vote, they had established a quorum with 28 councillors in the voting chamber.
The council budget was passed with an amendment calling for R200,000 to be spent on job evaluations, says the speaker.
Highlights of the 2014 budget are:
– Total budget expenditure of R583 million
– R169.2m spent on staff salaries
– 8 per cent increase in rates
– 8 per cent increase in refuse
– Rates and refuse are to be combined and paid for by the owner of the property.
– The indigence threshold has been reduced from R110,ooo to R80,000, increasing the number of people who will have to pay rates.
– Electricity tariff increase of 7.39 per cent
Council plans to build several priority projects which include swimming pools in St Chad’s, Driefontein and Watersmeet; plus several sports fields and street lighting. The projects will cost a whopping R97.48 million.
