..R600 000 Jalopy failing to meet the luxurious appetite of madam boss
A Mercedez-Benz GLB, which cost the taxpayers more than R600 000 is gathering dust at the Sedibeng District Municipality in offices in Vereeniging because the mayor is refusing to use the car.
According to Gauteng MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Lebogang Maile’s written reply to questions tabled in the provincial legislature, the car was bought for ANC councillor Lerato Maloka, but the mayor was refusing to use it because “it was not bought according to specifications”.
The DA’s Kingsol Chabalala said this was worrying: For Maloka to refuse to use the vehicle is ridiculous considering that the municipality is facing a financial crisis and is unable to deliver adequate services to its residents.
“The residents of Sedibeng do not have access to tarred roads and some of the roads that are tarred are full of potholes as there is no proper regular maintenance of roads,” Chabalala lamented.
He said it was also worrying that even after the vehicle had been vinyl-wrapped in gloss black, Maloka was still refusing to use it.
“According to the MEC’s reply, vinyl-wrapping the car cost the municipality R29 300. This is a total waste of the municipality’s money and its a shame that the mayor wants to feed her ego at the expense of our people,” he said.
Chabalala urged Maloka to be less worried about the luxury car’s specifications and be more focused on delivering adequate services to the residents.
—City Press
