DA slams Polokwane Muni’s plan to buy R700k car for chief whip
The DA has criticised Polokwane’s plan to procure a R700k car for its chief whip, calling it wasteful amid ongoing service delivery failures.
POLOKWANE – The DA has opposed the municipality’s intention to procure a luxury vehicle for its chief whip, estimated at around R700 000.
The party said it is doing so on principle and in light of pressing containment needs, at a time when fiscal prudence is a national priority.
According to DA Councillor Androe Botha, the expenditure conflicts directly with municipal cost containment regulations gazetted by National Treasury, as well as the municipality’s own Cost Containment Policy.
“These regulations are designed to ensure that municipal resources are used effectively, efficiently and economically, and to eliminate wastage of public funds on non-service delivery items,” he said.
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“Every municipality is required to adopt and implement its own cost containment policy in line with these regulations.”
Botha highlighted that the policy requires the accounting officer to provide council with information on the extent of service delivery backlogs before such expenditure is approved.
“The DA cannot in good conscience support this proposal when essential municipal infrastructure and basic services are collapsing across the city. Service delivery must take precedence over luxury perks for political office-bearers,” she said.
Municipal spokesperson Thipa Selala noted that the municipality sees the purchase as fiscal prudence. He said the cost of the vehicle was drawn from the 2025/26 council-approved fleet budget, not from service delivery allocations.
“Tools of trade for designated office bearers are necessary for governance efficiency, oversight, coordination of council business, and constituency outreach – all of which are core to improving service delivery. Denying duly elected office bearers the lawful tools required to perform their duties would itself be a dereliction of institutional responsibility,” he added.
The DA warned that should the municipality proceed, it will not hesitate to report the matter to Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs, as well as to the provincial and national treasury.
“What this decision ultimately exposes are the absence of moral leadership and conscience with which the ANC continues to govern,” Botha concluded.
