City of uMhlathuze drags feet over SPCA grant
Correspondence from the SPCA to the municipality has gone unanswered since the grant was promised
A MUNICIPAL grant to the tune of R60 000 per month for both Empangeni and Richards Bay SPCAs, promised earlier this year by City of uMhlathuze Public Safety and Security Manager, Zolile Poswa, has been described as ‘grandstanding’ as the grant has not materialised.
Announced at Richards Bay SPCA’s AGM in July, Poswa said talks within the municipality about a grant in aid for local SPCAs had been re-ignited and that a monthly grant was being considered rather than the previous annual lump sum.
Since this announcement, talks between the municipality and SPCA have stalled, and correspondence from the SPCA to municipal officials has gone unanswered.
Similarly, meetings between the SPCA and municipality, to discuss the issue of the promised grant, have been made and broken, leaving the cash-strapped NPO in the lurch and battling to function.
‘We are in dire straits and if we do not get funding from the municipality urgently, we will not be able to keep the society running for much longer,’ said Richards Bay SPCA in a letter to Poswa last week.
At the time of writing the letter, the SPCA did not have sufficient funds to pay salaries, let alone other pressing expenses.
‘Every month we get deeper and deeper in debt and our kennels are overflowing with stray and abandoned animals.
‘Closure of the society will not only affect the animals, but there will be a number of people with families that will lose their jobs.’
Meanwhile, it has emerged that Poswa has been on long-term sick leave, expected to return to work mid-November.
Ward two councillor, Christo Botha, has worked tirelessly to facilitate several meetings between Poswa and the SPCA, to action financial support to the society, but even his written correspondence to Poswa over the past three months went unanswered.
‘I am very frustrated with the lack commitment from Mr Poswa’s department,’ said Botha.
‘The SPCA is in dire need of financial support as it performs the duty and care on behalf of the municipality.
‘I am fed up with empty promises and I will be submitting a written complaint to the Municipal Manager, requesting his urgent intervention.’
City of uMhlathuze Spokesperson Mdu Ncalane agreed to investigate the matter.
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