The Lekwa Local Municipality (LLM) paid more than R26 000 for 50 bacon and egg sandwiches, R16 500 for 100 soft drinks and almost R220 000 for breakfast for 205 people for two days.

This is a breakfast of more than R500 per person daily.

These are just some of the amounts spent during the final quarter of 2025. During the 17th ordinary council meeting on January 29, the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) questioned the procurement report for the final quarter.

The report shows that certain items were bought at prices far exceeding market value.

Dankus Venter, a FF+ councillor, said Mayor Sifiso Mngemezulu and Budget and Treasury MMC Thabang Motaung dismissed the expenditures as typing errors.

In the examples provided, Venter listed six lengths of 6m square tubing, measuring 75mm x 75mm. This was bought for R17 859, while the exact items would cost only R3 209.70 at Cashbuild, according to Venter.

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Other examples included five 25kg tubs of HTH chlorine granules, used to clean up after sewer spills, bought for R36 363. Venter said the market value for these items is only R6 495.

The LLM paid a staggering R15 500 for 15 plastic garden rakes, which would cost only R1 335 at Cashbuild.

Another odd purchase Venter pointed out was almost R1.9m for electrical stock procured in October, and additional stock valued at over R1m in December. He said this was concerning, considering that the stock was typically unavailable when needed.

“For a municipality characterised by years of poor service delivery, debt and maladministration problems, such overspending is unacceptable and borders on betrayal, eroding taxpayers’ confidence,” stated Venter.

The Standerton Advertiser noticed in the procurement report that the municipality spent over R300 000 on catering and food in the final quarter of 2025.

This included 24 x 500ml still water bottles quoted at R13 200 for October, with no indication of whether this refers to bottles or packs, R21 000 for catering for 100 people, R1 960 for items described as “morning tea”, the staggering amount for breakfast for 205 people, R16 500 for 100 soft drinks and 50 sandwiches with butter, bacon, eggs and lettuce for R26 250.

“It is unthinkable that a staggering R26 250 of taxpayers’ money was squandered on 50 sandwiches, while many families in the same community cannot even afford to put dry bread on the table,” stated Venter.

A local catering company gave the Standerton Advertiser a rough estimate of the cost of these items. Where catering was done for 100 people, the menu included pap, rice, beef stew, roast chicken, green salad and beetroot.

For the same menu and number of people, the local catering company quoted around R9 000, compared to the R21 000 spent by the LLM.

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For a standard breakfast for 205 people for two days, the company quoted R36 000, a staggering R183 350 less than what the LLM paid. The FF+ maintained that a full forensic analysis of the LLM’s expenditure must be done to find the root of this problem.

“This maladministration is a slap in the face to every resident who pays hard-earned money to a municipality failing to fulfil its duty,” said Venter.

FF+ Clr Wilma Venter said the amounts listed on reports were called into question due to the lack of specific descriptions, “The council is being deceived by broad terms.”

She openly called the administration negligent for not providing accurate reports and stated criminal cases must be opened to fight corruption in the municipality.

Mngemezulu replied, saying the item was closed, and all financial reports should be referred to Section 79 for scrutiny.

“We need to check how we got to R26 000 for 50 sandwiches,” said Mngemezulu.

The municipality’s communication team could not provide a clear comment on the matter at the time of going to print.