Would you pay R1 million for this? See this municipality's expensive Christmas tree

Butterworth’s Mnquma municipality stands accused of spending close to R1 million on a single Christmas tree and some Christmas lights which‚ according to other estimates‚ should have cost a quarter of the price.

The Christmas tree for the 2016 festive season‚ situated at the Mnquma Municipality’s Butterworth Monument‚ cost R322‚220. The municipality paid a total of R969‚955 for the tree and festive season lights in Butterworth‚ Centane and Ngqamakwe.

The Hawks have now been asked to investigate this and other dodgy transactions amounting to about R5-million which have allegedly been paid out since September at the Eastern Cape municipality.

This includes a charge of R103‚000 for 500 cable ties at R206 each. An online search revealed that these cable ties cost around R89 for a pack of 50‚ or R890 for 500 of them.

The owner of an Eastern Cape-based lighting company told the Daily Dispatch newspaper the end result “was very basic and amateurish”.

“What’s in Butterworth is an absolute joke – half of it isn’t even working. I wouldn’t have charged anything more than R350‚000.”

SUPPLIED/DAILY DISPATCH

A breakdown of the lights tender includes:

R322‚220 for a six-meter Christmas tree;

R237‚770 for Christmas lights in Centane and Ngqamakhwe;

R77‚308 for a stand-alone pole with star-shaped LED rope.

- TMG Digital/Daily Dispatch