DEAR Editor;-
We are often criticised by some of our colleagues on the Umdoni Council for voting against recommendations put before us by officials at council meetings. What these critics choose to ignore is that we always give justification for doing so. We do not oppose recommendations merely for the sake of it or because we are the official opposition.
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A special council meeting was called on January 19, 2018, to consider and resolve upon recommendations regarding payment to the contractor, Minathi Construction, for the Scottburgh CBD/beach upgrades as follows: “It is hereby recommended that:
1 Council condones the payment already processed in the current financial year towards work done;
2 Council approves the payment for December 2017 to be processed to avoid litigation and shut down the site;
3 Payment made will be raised as irregular expenditure in the AFS during audit period.
We voted against all three parts for the reasons as follows:
1 Council does not condone payments made for budgeted expenditure that has followed due administrative process. It is irregular to do so.
2 There was no evidence or report presented to substantiate or suggest any form of intended litigation or shutdown. There was also no information presented on what payment and work was referred to for December 2017. Council should not approve expenditure in the absence of relevant information.
3 The auditors will independently determine whether or not expenditure is “irregular”. Council cannot pre-empt the findings of auditors by resolving upon it. The recommendation is irregular.
We took a decision to publish this so that members of the public get an accurate understanding of why this caucus finds it necessary to vote against suspicious, irregular and unsubstantiated recommendations, that clearly suggest something is amiss and a cover-up is taking place.
It is significant to note that the majority who voted for this these recommendations were led by councillors Mngadi and Brijraj, and there was clear dissent in the ANC ranks. There are growing signs of discomfort about the slipshod way in which management is handling capital projects, the poor performance of the contractors and the severe lack of transparency in its dealings.
The failure by COGTA to report on its investigations into corruption and maladministration, particularly for the R12-million it initially granted to Umdoni for this project, is evidence enough that Umdoni has become a target for the looters both inside and outside the municipality. The subsequent R40-million further granted by COGTA, while they are in possession of their own report that undoubtedly points to serious corruption, implicates them in this sorry saga.
Despite the attempts at humiliation and intimidation and the continued failure by the speaker to apply the rules of order, we remain steadfast about the principles that must be applied for good governance. There are other councillors who are beginning to demonstrate their desire to “keep it clean”. We applaud their courage and welcome their efforts.
The councillors have the collective authority to end the corruption and the appalling lapses in management. We only need a majority to stand firmly behind the principles of good governance and service to the community, for us to change the game.
COUNCILLOR EDWIN BAPTIE
DA CAUCUS: UMDONI
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