The DA was deeply concerned that the cash-strapped African National Congress-led Emfuleni local municipality had spent R215,550,063 in the past five financial years on travel claims, DA Gauteng MPL Kingsol Chabalala said in a statement.

This was revealed by Gauteng cooperative governance and traditional affairs MEC Lebogang Maile in a written reply to the DA’s questions tabled in the Gauteng legislature, he said.

According to Maile, travel claims spent by Emfuleni were: from January 2020 (R21,539,322); June 2019 (36,051,927); June 2018 (R45,761,557); June 2017 (R38,029,590); June 2016 (R37,281,281); and June 2015 (R36,886,383).

"It is unacceptable for the municipality to spend exorbitant amounts of money on travel claims while they have a fleet of municipal vehicles to be used for service delivery purposes. It is also worrying that this municipality which is facing a serious cash-flow problem continues to spend money on travel claims," Chabalala said.

Furthermore, it was concerning that this amount of money had been spent on travel claims given the fact that most of the areas that officials would travel to were located within close proximity of each other.

"This money could have been spent on reducing debt owed to Eskom and since Eskom has attached the municipality’s fleet this means that the travel claims will skyrocket," he said.

The DA called on Maile to clamp down on travel claims in Emfuleni as part of his interventions to save this municipality. It was high time that the ANC-led Gauteng government put residents of Emfuleni first by dissolving the council, as service delivery had collapsed.

"We will continue to put pressure on both Gauteng premier David Makhura and MEC Maile to dissolve the Emfuleni council and to monitor how this municipality is wasting taxpayers’ money," Chabalala said.

African News Agency (ANA)