Without documents to justify the expense, a proposal to buy luxury vehicles worth R2m in total for Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Babalwa Lobishe and council chief whip Wandisile Jikeka was rejected at a council meeting.
Lobishe uses a two-year-old Audi Q5 with 54,776km on the clock.
According to a council report, the vehicle has been in and out of a mechanical workshop.
However, it states that a mechanical assessment was done with the outcome positive.
Despite the assessment, the reason listed for a new R1.1m vehicle is that the Audi Q5 has lost power three times while in use by Lobishe.
Jikeka is driven in a nine-year-old VW Polo with 225,722km clocked.
The vehicle was involved in an accident and a quote for repairs has been requested.
A request for R900,000 was made for his new vehicle.
The report brought to the council for approval on Thursday sought to amend the city’s 2024/2025 capital budget to purchase the vehicles ahead of the February budget adjustment.
According to the legislation, buying vehicles must adhere to strict financial thresholds as stated in cost containment regulations.
One regulation of the cost containment rules states that vehicles for political office bearers must not cost more than R700,000 or 70% of their total annual pay, including VAT, depending on the municipality’s grade.
Lobishe’s total annual package is R1,546,392 while Jikeka’s is R1,176,440.
The 70% threshold for Lobishe is R1,082,474.40 and R823,508 for Jikeka.
This means the R2m requested is R94,017.60 more than the 70% threshold.
Another regulation states that vehicles can only be replaced once they exceed the 120,000km mark.
The cost containment rules state that before buying a vehicle, the accounting officer must provide the council with details that must be considered:
- A status report of current vehicles;
- Affordability options including whether to procure a vehicle or hire;
- Extent of service delivery backlogs; and
- Terrain for effective usage of the vehicle.
Safety compliance, performance requirements, off-road capability and an enhanced public image are listed as the reasons to buy the vehicles.
“The demands of the offices of political executives require a high-performance vehicle capable of rapid response and reliability,” the report states.
“Suitable vehicles would enable them to attend meetings and events punctually, reflecting the professionalism of our administration.
“Using vehicles that meet the required standards contributes to a positive public image.
“Professional and capable vehicles embody the values of our leadership and enhance the perception of our governance.
“The chief whip vehicle is to be replaced, the odometer reading threshold has been exceeded and is no longer fit for purpose.”
DA councillor Roelf Basson said it was concerning that the mayoral vehicle would be replaced for the third time in two years.
“It is important to get clarity on what happened to the last two vehicles.
“We are concerned the report from the automotive section shows the vehicle was sent for evaluation and the outcome was positive.
“Now why do we want to replace a vehicle if the report was positive?
“We require a proper evaluation of that vehicle.
“We want to understand why a vehicle at 54,000km needs to be replaced, whereas your cost containment measure says at least a minimum of 120,000km must be done.
“We are not denying the mayor a safe vehicle but we are talking about consequence management.
“We are talking accountability.”
DA councillor Rano Kayser called for the matter to be deferred until an investigation into the three vehicles was done.
“We support the principle that political office bearers must be safe because we are not buying cars for individuals, we are buying cars for that office.
“But if you look at this report, there is an internal report from fleet management that shows the car is under warranty.”
ACDP councillor Lance Grootboom said it was unacceptable that in two years, three vehicles would be damaged and written off.
“We want our mayor and council whip to drive comfortably, but at the end of the day this item was not even budgeted for in the financial year.
“Now we are going to move money around to pay for this when there is outstanding information.”
Acting city manager Sizwe Mvunelwa said they were responsible for ensuring the safety of political office-bearers.
He said on a trip to Kariega recently, Lobishe’s car broke down on the side of the road.
“The mayor’s vehicle is the one we are concerned about.
“At 54,000km it is going to be mechanically uneconomical to maintain.
“Though it is not in the budget, the purpose is to ensure that through a legal process, it finds expression in the budget.”
Infrastructure and engineering political head Buyelwa Mafaya said the report created confusion among councillors.
“Why is the outcome positive when you have stated the vehicle is not fit for the road?”
Jikeka agreed information was missing which added to the confusion.
“I think the crafters of the item did not do it justice to take an informed decision.
“If you look at the item, there are attachments that are supposed to be accompanying the item, and they are not there, and they are making it difficult for us to make an informed decision.
“If it were up to me, I would persuade the city manager to pull the item, craft it properly, look at the grammatical errors and bring it back.
“The issues of the history of the accident and who was driving it and the consequence management.”
Mvunelwa conceded and withdrew the item.
Lobishe did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
The Herald
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