Mogalakwena Mayor spend R67 000 on Salga trip

LIMPOPO – The Mogalakwena Mayor, Andrina Matsemela spent R67 000 on a two-day event held in Cape Town in June last year, attending a South African Local Government Association (Salga) meeting.

In what the DA refers to as an “extravagant splurge of taxpayers’ money”, Matsemela ironically attended the meeting in which Salga outlined emerging issues confronting mayors, and local governance in general.

According to Korny Dekker, DA Councillor in Mogalakwena Municipality, Matsemela was accompanied by her bodyguard and stayed in a five-star hotel for three nights, at a cost of more than R27 000.

“The two spent R22 000 on airplane tickets and R6 500 on hiring an executive vehicle.”

He alleges they also went on a “shopping spree”.

Dekker said the approval of the trip is currently being requested and questioned for deviation from the supply chain policy for the use of a travelling agent.

“It is shameful that Mayor Matsemela lives in the lap of luxury while many Mogalakwena residents still live in abject poverty and unemployment. The municipality is not in a financial position to repair street lights and potholes in town, but an exorbitant amount for Matsemela’s trip to Cape Town was approved.”

Mogalakwena Municipality is in financial distress, yet it seems Matsemela is not concerned enough to cut down on irregular expenditure and to prioritise service delivery, Dekker said.

The DA has requested the Office of the Public Protector to probe Matsemela after she spent R67 000 in just three days.

“The DA urges the Public Protector to hold Matsemela accountable for this lavish trip and to pay back the people’s money with immediate effect. The DA will not waiver in its commitment commitment to ensuring that taxpayers’ money is used for the benefit of all South Africans.”

Malesela Selokela, Head of Communications of the municipality, refuted the DA’s claims, saying the money came from a different budget.

“The DA statement is erroneous. The R67 000 the mayor has spent on the Salga meeting in Cape Town is from the municipality’s operational budget, which provides for matters like the Salga meeting.”

He said the DA would not understand the importance of Salga meetings, as all DA-led municipalities are not affiliated to the association. Considering that the duo stayed in a five-star hotel, the bill is reasonable had the DA done their calculations.

“If you divide R27 000 into the three nights, it means that R9 000 was spent on two people, thus R4 500 per person.

“Cape Town is a tourist attraction and all mayors across the country who are affiliated to Salga attend the meeting.

He claimed that most hotels had been fully booked at the time, which is why the mayor and her driver stayed in a five-star hotel “at a very reasonable rate”.

He further justified the amounts: “One should take into consideration that R22 000 is a return trip from Polokwane Gateway to OR Tambo, from OR Tambo to Cape Town and tickets prices fluctuate.

“The municipality could have spent more should we have deviated from supply chain procedures and agencies can negotiate better prices, hence deviation was approved.”

He said the amount of the rental vehicle was in line with the Ministerial handbook.

On the allegation that Matsemela went on a shopping spreek, Selokela said it was well within her righs as a private citizen to do so, using her own money.

He refuted the allegation that the municipality is in financial distress.

“We are able to pay our service providers on time unlike other municipalities such as Modimolle/Mookgophong and Thabazimbi Local Municipality.”

redaksie.bosvelder@nmgroup.co.za