‘Secret’ sponsorship pays for council’s 4-day jaunt
A local businessman who runs a well-equipped conference facility indicated that this might cost about R500 000 at the resort.
Absa Bank denies sponsoring the Newcastle council’s jaunt to the Drakensberg Sun Resort last week.
Municipal officials and councillors, as well as their spouses and bodyguards, spent four nights at the luxury resort, where they attended a strategic planning workshop in which they discussed the town’s budget and Integrated Development Plan (IDP).
The workshop, which began on Monday, March 25, concluded on Thursday, March 28, with a special council meeting in which mayor, Xolani Dube, tabled the draft budget and draft IDP.
All coalition partners of the council attended the workshop, but the ANC and EFF did not.
Concerned about the cost to the ratepayer for an unnecessary trip out of town, the Newcastle Growth Coalition (NGC) enquired about where the money would come from, prior to the workshop taking place.
“We believe that Newcastle Municipality cannot afford an out-of-town session due to the financial situation we are in right now,” stated NGC chairperson, Johan Pieters. “The speaker (Cllr Thengi Zulu) informed the NGC that Absa Bank would be sponsoring the strategic session.”
In response to an official media enquiry, however, an Absa spokesperson, stated, “We can confirm that Absa did not make the donation to the Newcastle Municipality as suggested in the query.”
When the Newcastle Advertiser approached Cllr Zulu about this, he was unable to accede to a telephonic interview but stated in a Whatsapp message, “That, I cannot confirm. Things change. We, as politicians, may not put a nail on the block until a confirmation letter is signed by those responsible.” (We were unable to get clarity on what he meant at the time of print.)
Following Cllr Zulu’s response, the Newcastle Advertiser then contacted the Drakensberg Sun Resort to ask if the trip had been paid for in full. General manager, Pranesh Sukhdeo, declined to comment but confirmed that ‘all his books were in order with no inconsistencies’.
So …Where did the money for the trip come from?
“My biggest concern is that the municipality pleads poverty, yet they have the funds to go to the Drakensberg. If they say it was sponsored, we would like to know who sponsored it and what they expect in return. They sponsored the trip, in exchange for what? The public is entitled to know,” said Ferdie Alberts, who commented on behalf of the Sakekamer.
Councillors and officials the Newcastle Advertiser approached at the resort confidently stated the workshop was sponsored, but did not know who sponsored it. The municipal manager, Zamani Mcineka, remains mum and did not respond to the Newcastle Advertiser’s request for more information in this regard.
ANC councillor, Samukelisiwe Yende, said members of the party chose not to attend because they felt uncomfortable not knowing who the sponsor is.
“According to regulations from National Treasury, Provincial Treasury and Cogta (the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs), any form of sponsorship must be fully disclosed to the council. Not doing so puts the reputation of the municipality at stake. Questions arise about whether the sponsor intends to manipulate decisions of the council,” said Yende.
“The Code of Conduct for councillors, states that a councillor must (a) perform the functions of office in good faith, honestly and in a transparent manner and (b) at all times act in the best interest of the municipality and in such a way that the credibility and integrity of the municipality is not compromised,” pointed out chairperson of the Newcastle Ratepayers Forum (NRF), Matthew Shunmugum.
He continued, “Previously, strategic workshops were only for the 11 full time councillors and senior officials. This was done to save costs. The other councillors were not invited to the workshop. Spouses or partners were never invited. The current practice is mind blogging and shows blatant disregard for good governance and the welfare of the ratepayers considering the financial state of the municipality were basic services cannot be maintained.”
Dr Imran Keeka, who commented on behalf of the DA, admitted members of his party also didn’t know where the money came from, “The DA made it clear in the council meeting (that took place on February 28) that its caucus would not participate if costing was not made transparent. Confirmation was received by caucus leader, Cllr Bertie Meiring, both from the municipal manager and speaker, that there would be no cost to council with regards to the venue hire, meals and accommodation for councillors, officials and other staff. Meiring was told this cost would be carried by a sponsor. It needs to be verified who this sponsor was and it will eventually be evident from the municipality’s financials.”
Keeka went on to explain that there was no additional cost for councillors’ spouses, seeing as the payment was made per room and not per person. He added that councillors who took their spouses along paid for their spouses’ meals out of their own pockets.
- Our estimation of how much the trip would have cost
In estimating how much the trip would have cost either a sponsor or ratepayers, should the money come from municipal coffers, the Newcastle Advertiser considered standard accommodation costs at the Drakensberg Sun Resort, travel costs per kilometre, a stay-out allowance for incidental costs and the cost of the conference facility over four days.
A local businessman who runs a well-equipped conference facility indicated that this might cost about R500 000 at the resort. Accommodation calculated at R3 500 per night for 70 guests comes to R980 000.
Travel costs for an estimated 50 vehicles that would have been driven 200km out of town and back, was calculated at R4.84 per kilometre and adds up to R100 000. Incidental costs for each delegate at R169 per person for 70 people comes to R11 830.
A tally of these costs adds up to a total of R1 591 830.00.
Pieters pointed out that a cash injection of this amount into Newcastle’s businesses would have been a welcome boost to the town’s economy had the council decided to spend the sponsorship locally, instead of in Winterton.
“We have very good venues in Newcastle that can host a session like this,” said Pieters.
“The council has a responsibility to support local business and should be committed to local economic development,” said Shunmugam, adding that hosting the workshop locally would have saved on travel costs.
Yende agreed, “A rand spent to support a local business person goes very far. Contributing to local business has a direct impact on the high rate of unemployment in the town. In choosing to host the workshop out of town, the little impact we could have had, for example in the catering industry, was lost. The municipality is supposed to contribute to the local economy of the town. How can we expect business to pay rates and taxes if we are not doing everything we can to create opportunities for them to succeed?”
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