The DA in Mangaung Metro Municipality demands answers on the irregular spending of funds allocated for the annual Macufe Festival. The DA has previously questioned examples such as the half a million rand that was given as a gift during Macufe or the allegation that an amount of R4.5 million was paid by the then Mayor, Olly Mlamleli to a company named C-squared. These questions among others have never been fully answered.
The irregular practice whereby the Mayor of the municipality allocates funds to such service providers with no Council approval or resolution to that effect. The DA is concerned with the misuse of taxpayers’ money that is clearly benefiting those that are close to the political elite in the governing party. It is alleged that since the establishment of Macufe the municipality has paid out in excess of R 285 million in sponsorships to such organisations.
The Auditor General has time and again red-flagged funds that appear to be given out to service providers and are never accounted for by the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality when audited.
The DA will table the following questions:
- How much money has been allocated to MACUFE for 2022?
- Did the municipality seek to obtain approval from Council before allocating such funds to the Macufe?
- Which approved policy gives the municipalities’ leadership or administrative leadership permission to award such funds to Macufe without council resolution?
- Will the municipality ensure that such funding is reported to the Auditor General and that it is substantiated and accounted for with reference to statutory Acts or law to avoid unfunded and irregular expenditure?
- What is the amount of funds allocated to Macufe from the municipality since the establishment of the festival?
The DA will always fight for the community of the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality and ensure that funds are utilized for the purpose that they were meant for. Service delivery should be prioritized in a municipality where residents are subjected to poor service delivery and ineffective governance.