ANC loots electricity for its birthday celebrations – mayor of Kgatelopele must pay up
by Safiyia Stanfley – Spokesperson of Education
Date: 29 June 2018
Release: Immediate
The DA will refer the misallocation of disaster funding by Ubuntu Municipality to the Municipal Public Account Committee (MPAC).
This comes after a fire that gutted the girl’s dormitory of the Ad Victorium High School in Victoria West last night, has brought the dysfunctional fire fighting equipment of the Ubuntu Municipality under the spotlight. See photos here, here and here.
The fire is believed to have been caused by an electric fault. Thanks to the swift response of community members and farmers, the fire was eventually extinguished before it could spread to the boy’s wing. However, the fire damage would have been drastically reduced had a fire truck been available.
Ironically, the municipality’s fire truck has been stuck in Loxton since 7 July 2016 after the fire truck left Victoria West to attend to a fire at the JJ Booysen Secondary School in Loxton. The fire truck got stuck halfway between Victoria west and Loxton and the school burnt to the ground. The fire truck was towed to Loxton, where it has remained without any maintenance, ever since, rendering the fire brigade non-operational.
It is increasingly clear that there is extensive corruption within Ubuntu Municipality and that funds, especially those intended for disaster response, are not properly allocated.
The Auditor-General will be visiting Ubuntu Municipality next week, on 4 July, in order to have discussions with municipal leadership, including DA councillor, Hugo Vorster, who is also the chairperson of MPAC, regarding unauthorized expenditure totaling R8 million. Vorster will also raise the matter of disaster funds with the AG.
The DA sends our support to community of Victoria West and while we lament the destruction caused by the fire, we are glad that no one got hurt. Our councillors will be monitoring the situation and seeing how best we can assistance to the school.
The ANC government does not care about the safety and wellbeing of our communities. Only change under a DA-led government will ensure that disaster response initiatives across the Northern Cape are operational and fully resourced.
Media Enquiries
Safiyia Stanfley
Spokesperson of Education
084 919 4157
Shelley De Witt
Researcher
082 847 1387
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