Opposition parties said the old car of the Govan Mbeki Municipality’s speaker, Ms Fikile Magagamela, should be auctioned before she can get a new one.
They said this during a council meeting that was held on Thursday, January 6, after the executive mayor, Mr Nhlakanipho Zuma, presented the speaker’s car as an item on the agenda.
He said it needs to be replaced because it is problematic and very expensive to maintain.
Mr Zuma said the car was used by the executive mayor in 2011, then given to the speaker of the 2016 municipal council and they are now calling for it to be replaced.
Opposition parties didn’t agree with the mayor and said that money to buy a car should be directed to service delivery.
They believe the speaker should use the municipal vehicles that are available.
They also claimed that the municipality is in debt of more than R1billion and cannot afford to buy a new car for the speaker.
These councillors want the speaker’s car and other redundant municipal vehicles to be auctioned off and asked that an auction report be tabled to the council.
They also raised concerns over municipal vehicles being abused by officials for things that are not related to their work, such as shopping outside the municipality’s jurisdiction.
The mayor said he understands that councillors are concern about servicing the community and out of that service, the speaker of the council must be able to reach all meetings that she has to attend.
“It is gazetted through the act that has been signed by the minister and approved by the president that the speaker must be able to have protection.
“Council has an obligation to provide the speaker with two protectors, and if we cannot provide the speaker with a car, it means we have doubled the expenses.
“If the speaker uses her personal car, the council will have to compensate her by giving her a travelling allowance because most of the meetings are held outside the municipal jurisdiction.”
Mr Zuma said Ms Magagamela must also always be escorted by a municipal car wherever she goes.
He said he appreciated the view that the speaker should use an existing municipal vehicle but said he cannot remember the municipality having a car that can accommodate three people, except those of law enforcers and bakkies.
Mr Zuma said it is much too expensive to keep the speaker’s current car because when it breaks down, they have to hire another car for the speaker and pay for towing and maintenance.
He agreed that the car must be auctioned off.
