Buffalo City Metro mayor Zukiswa Ncitha has come under fire from opposition parties for splashing out more than R130 000 on an end-of-the-year gala dinner tomorrow night.
The mayor’s spokesman Sibusiso Cindi confirmed yesterday that Ncitha was hosting 300 guests at R440 per head at the upmarket Hemingways Hotel.
Cindi said the bill was an all-inclusive price for “a three-course meal, venue hire, sound, juice, fizzy drinks, tablecloths, chairs, tables and technician”.
But opposition parties plan to boycott the event.
DA caucus spokesman Lance Weyer said the DA caucus took a decision last week not to attend. He estimated the cost per guest at over R500 per head.
Weyer said: “Given the poor state of service delivery in BCM, where multibillion-rand backlogs exist in road, sewerage and water maintenance, we cannot in good conscience support this wasteful expenditure.”
PAC leader Jerome Mdyolo said: “We are not going to attend this dinner. We have been saying for years that these gala dinners to mark the end of the year are a waste of money.”
But Cindi said tomorrow night’s gala dinner would cost the metro far less than in “previous years”.
He said in the past the metro used to host three summer season gala dinners at three separate venues to accommodate ratepayers in the coastal, inland and midland areas.
“Realising that this was costly, the metro decided to combine all the events into one so as to save money.
“The venue was chosen because it could fit 300 people, affordable and easily accessible to all our guests,” said Cindi.
Past years’ figures show that the same event cost R133195 in 2012 and R118000 last year.
“The prices for 2012 and 2013 excluded venue hire, technician, and sound. “Normally we could have held this gala dinner at BCM City Hall, but due to renovations currently taking place there, we had to go to another venue,” said Cindi.
He said the cost for the function “would be borne from the Mayor Civic Function which is budgeted for”.
Weyer said the DA was concerned that recommendations of several BCM forensic reports had not been implemented, even though several officials were found in the wrong. — zineg@dispatch.co.za
Rival parties to snub BCM mayor’s gala bash
The mayor’s spokesman Sibusiso Cindi confirmed yesterday that Ncitha was hosting 300 guests at R440 per head at the upmarket Hemingways Hotel.
Cindi said the bill was an all-inclusive price for “a three-course meal, venue hire, sound, juice, fizzy drinks, tablecloths, chairs, tables and technician”.
But opposition parties plan to boycott the event.
DA caucus spokesman Lance Weyer said the DA caucus took a decision last week not to attend. He estimated the cost per guest at over R500 per head.
Weyer said: “Given the poor state of service delivery in BCM, where multibillion-rand backlogs exist in road, sewerage and water maintenance, we cannot in good conscience support this wasteful expenditure.”
PAC leader Jerome Mdyolo said: “We are not going to attend this dinner. We have been saying for years that these gala dinners to mark the end of the year are a waste of money.”
But Cindi said tomorrow night’s gala dinner would cost the metro far less than in “previous years”.
He said in the past the metro used to host three summer season gala dinners at three separate venues to accommodate ratepayers in the coastal, inland and midland areas.
“Realising that this was costly, the metro decided to combine all the events into one so as to save money.
“The venue was chosen because it could fit 300 people, affordable and easily accessible to all our guests,” said Cindi.
Past years’ figures show that the same event cost R133195 in 2012 and R118000 last year.
“The prices for 2012 and 2013 excluded venue hire, technician, and sound. “Normally we could have held this gala dinner at BCM City Hall, but due to renovations currently taking place there, we had to go to another venue,” said Cindi.
He said the cost for the function “would be borne from the Mayor Civic Function which is budgeted for”.
Weyer said the DA was concerned that recommendations of several BCM forensic reports had not been implemented, even though several officials were found in the wrong. — zineg@dispatch.co.za
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