The financially drained Amathole district municipality (ADM), which failed to pay contractors last year, splurged R15-million on cellphone allowances, 3G cards and data for employees and councillors.
The Siyenza contract came to a halt with some of the toilets yet to be completed.
Last month, the Dispatch reported that ADM’s development agency, Aspire, was financially battling to survive and some critical posts could not filled for lack of budget.
Aspire is also struggling to pay staff salaries due to its shrinking budget, and some posts had to be downgraded.
In February last year, the Dispatch also reported on ADM plans to sell off properties to pay staff salaries and bills. So dire was the financial squeeze at the time that former mayor, Nomasikizi Konza, tried to sell off “non-core” ADM assets.
In a report to the ADM council she proposed the sale of 28 “non-core” items – including land with a claimed value of R43-million.
The list included a R6-million mayoral house and state-owned plot in East London valued at R1.9-million, as well as properties in Cathcart, Chintsa, East London, Haga Haga, Morgan Bay, Stutterheim, Sunrise-On-Sea and Winterstrand.
But her fellow ANC councillors and opposition members disagreed with the plan. At the time, ex-council speaker Samkelo Janda confirmed the council had pressured Konza to scrap the plan and instead increase water and sanitation tariffs, saying ADM would need to find “other ways to raise capital”. — asandan@dispatch.co.za
BUST COUNCIL’S BONUS BONANZA
The Siyenza contract came to a halt with some of the toilets yet to be completed.
Last month, the Dispatch reported that ADM’s development agency, Aspire, was financially battling to survive and some critical posts could not filled for lack of budget.
Aspire is also struggling to pay staff salaries due to its shrinking budget, and some posts had to be downgraded.
In February last year, the Dispatch also reported on ADM plans to sell off properties to pay staff salaries and bills. So dire was the financial squeeze at the time that former mayor, Nomasikizi Konza, tried to sell off “non-core” ADM assets.
In a report to the ADM council she proposed the sale of 28 “non-core” items – including land with a claimed value of R43-million.
The list included a R6-million mayoral house and state-owned plot in East London valued at R1.9-million, as well as properties in Cathcart, Chintsa, East London, Haga Haga, Morgan Bay, Stutterheim, Sunrise-On-Sea and Winterstrand.
But her fellow ANC councillors and opposition members disagreed with the plan. At the time, ex-council speaker Samkelo Janda confirmed the council had pressured Konza to scrap the plan and instead increase water and sanitation tariffs, saying ADM would need to find “other ways to raise capital”. — asandan@dispatch.co.za
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