Durban - The speaker of the eThekwini Municipality, Thabani Nyawose has ordered city manager Musa Mbhele to probe the figures presented for the expenditure on water tankers, this after questions were raised about their accuracy.
A report presented during a full council meeting yesterday said the city was paying R6.2 million for 52 water tankers each month.
However, the report further noted an overall figure of R28m as total expenditure on the item over a period of 10 years.
It was this total amount that came under scrutiny from IFP councillor Mzwethu Gwala.
He questioned how officials had arrived at the overall figure of R28m as a total expenditure on the item over a period of 10 years, suggesting that councillors were being hoodwinked into approving the item when the actual amount was likely to be higher.
Gwala appealed for the matter to be looked at, warning of dire consequences in the future for the city if this was not done.
“We need to discuss the matter properly. The fact is, if it costs the city R6.2m per month to pay for 52 water tankers, the total over 12 months is R74.4m,” the IFP councillor said when addressing the speaker.
Following arguments, Nyawose issued a directive for the probe by the administration.
“Let us place the matter aside and the city manager will look at it and check whether these were the figures presented in the previous meeting,” said Nyawose.
He added that any corrections would be attended to in the next council meeting.
ANC councillors said they had no objection to a probe on the expenditure issue.
IFP eThekwini caucus leader Mdu Nkosi said questions over the expenditure on water tankers had come as past experience had shown that the city ended up paying exorbitant amounts.
He added that they were not prepared to repeat the same mistakes, and this had been the reason they had closely followed the issue.
“This item was presented at the previous council meeting and when we looked at it we realised that the figures were just not tallying up, that is why we raised such objections today,” he told The Mercury.
He added that they were happy that the matter would be the subject of a probe and wanted to satisfy themselves that council money was spent wisely. The use of water tankers by the city has often been mired in controversy, with allegations that some individuals were pocketing money in the process.
Spokesperson for eThekwini mayor Mluleki Mntungwa said the office could not comment on the matter as the council had taken a decision on it.
Yesterday’s council sitting which began in the morning continued after 6pm because load shedding earlier in the day had affected the communication between councillors, leading to breaks being taken.