R3 million spent on Elias Motsoaledi ward committee conference

The DA in the Elias Motsoaledi Municipality in Limpopo has written to the Public Protector to look into R3 million spent on a Ward Committee Conference held at the Forever Resorts Bela Bela in October 2024, while the municipality faces challenges such as poor service delivery.

The Party says the poor and misguided decision to host about 400 people for the Elias Motsoaledi Ward Committee Conference outside the municipality came at a great cost.

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The DA says its councillors decided not to attend in protest to the cost implications of the wasteful use of taxpayer money.

“Many of the costs could have been avoided if the municipality had been prudent in spending municipal funds,” the party said in a statement.

“We believe this is wasteful expenditure and an unacceptable waste of limited financial resources, especially when the municipality is struggling to provide basic services to residents.

“The DA also wrote to the speaker previously over concerns of the use of agencies to book venues and accommodation when the municipality has the capacity to do it.”

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“The DA is vehemently opposed to the reckless spending of municipal resources. We will continue to champion responsible spending. The residents of Elias Motsoaledi deserve better.”

Some of the expenses the municipality has incurred for the conference include:

Accommodation [R1 030 773.75]

Conference package [R893 550]

Supply and delivery of Golf t-shirts [R513 532]

Fifteen 22-seater taxis from all wards [R142 011]

400 soft shell jackets [R 864 432]