Councillor gets eThekwini mayor in a tizz over clothes and travel comments

A debate about budget reprioritisation in the eThekwini municipality was almost overshadowed by a war of words between mayor Mxolisi Kaunda and DA councillor Andre Beetge.

Beetge questioned the reprioritisation of R4.1m to the mayoral parlour during the city’s last council meeting of the year on Monday last week. The mayoral parlour budget included:

• R500,000 for international accommodation;
• R500,000 for local air transport;
• R600,000 for maintenance of building; and
• R2.5m for hire charges.

Beetge said the tweaking of the budget was because of negligence, including late submissions, and lack of accountability for it. He questioned the money spent on the mayor’s needs while highlighting his expensive dress style.

“Speaking of the mayor, you have to agree the man has style, always dressed to the nines,” he said.

He also questioned the mayor’s recent international and local travel, suggesting money was being wasted.

“A world traveller of note who has stamps in his passport from trips to Copenhagen, the UK, Europe, possibly even China, definitely Russia. Who can forget the recent accolade bestowed [on] him in the US? Days ago he was noted enjoying palatial surroundings in the Drakensberg. But being king of the hill doesn’t come cheap.”

Beetge noted the mayor does not travel alone, referencing intergovernmental relations reprioritising R386,000 from poverty relief. That is set to cover R106,000 for foreign accommodation and R220,000 for gifts.

“As [to] where, on what and with whom this was spent is a secret, as is what happens there. To date the mayor is yet to table any report to this council for consideration, debate or approval.”

Kaunda fired back at the DA councillor for questioning his dress sense.

“Councillor Beetge touched on how I dress, so I think I should venture to that strongly because I want to thank this municipality for donating the blazer he is wearing,” he said, to laughter mostly from the ANC caucus.

“Without that blazer he comes in shirts and doesn’t adhere to the decorum of this house so this municipality, through its indigent policy, donated to councillor Beetge.”

Other council members could be heard in the background asking Kaunda to pause his address so they could laugh at the DA councillor, while one jokingly questioned why the mayor was so “personal”.

Kaunda said the international trips were not a waste of money but were necessary to reposition the city to “occupy its rightful position”.

He said the city is positioning itself at the international stage because it believes it can be compared with other great cities in the world and must strive to attract tourists from all over the globe.

“That necessitates the city to continue being part of international organisations like C40 Cities UCLG and many others,” he said.

“When we attend those conferences, we occupy centre stage, we debate, we’re in panels, we make contributions to shape the world and shape how Africa should position itself in geopolitics.”

The ANC’s Nkosenhle Madlala said the reprioritisation was partly a response to the austerity measures announced by National Treasury which forced the city to be in line with the reduced financial resources.

“If we don’t do that, we will find our budget is no longer funded because the wish list on it will not match the money available to achieve them,” he said.

Madlala said another issue stems from the “disarticulation” between the budget cycle of the national government and that of cities. This came to the fore when the city had to ask for a rollover of R1.7bn because the National Treasury made the funds available a few months before the end of the city’s financial year, which gave it insufficient time to follow procurement processes.

“The amount of rollover that was made to us affected the original budget. If that happens, you need to go back and reprioritise so you are able to align your new priorities and the financial resources that are present.”

The budget was eventually passed, with 140 councillors in support of the recommendation and 43 against. Three abstained.

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