Ethekwini has spent R70m on protecting councillors – mayor

THE ethekwini Municipality, recently singled out as a political killings hot spot, has revealed that it had incurred a R70 million bill for protecting councillors facing threats from political hitmen.

The revelation was made by mayor Mxolisi Kaunda following questions from the media at an event dubbed the “hot seat”, hosted in Durban by the KZN ANC yesterday, that was meant to provide a platform to grill them about municipalities they run.

Kaunda frankly admitted that the region had become more affected by the scourge of politically motivated killings. It was not immediately clear how many councillors had been provided with bodyguards as the mayoral office said it needed time to aggregate that information.

Kaunda said they felt they had a duty to protect them even before the SAPS completed its security threat assessments because the situation was dire.

“When I was still the MEC for community safety and liaison, I was approached by the (then) speaker (William Mapena) of the municipality asking, can I assist them to really expedite the issue of threat assessments?

“I think that’s where the challenge is. The SAPS do not have adequate capacity to assess councillors. I am sure all municipalities have met the similar challenge of the delays when it comes to that. In the whole province, there are only three people designated to conduct threat assessments.

“So as a city we decided that we can’t wait for those assessments, therefore there must a report made to the police and the council received that report through the speaker’s office; then we start(ed) providing security because no one can deny that in ethekwini many politicians have been killed, including the recent (killing) of the ANC candidate (Siya Mkhize of Cato Manor) in ward 101.

“So you can’t have a municipality that folds its hands and for the period from July to September we spent about R70m in that quarter alone. So that shows the mandate of investing when it comes to security.

“But we are putting in place a policy and that policy will then be approved by the new administration. They will assess it and approve it so that we have clear guidance in terms of who becomes a beneficiary of these packages of security in the municipality,” Kaunda responded.

The bill of other hot-spot municipalities, such as Msunduzi, Newcastle and Mzimkhulu, was not revealed at the gathering.

Taking part in the discussion were Mhlathuze (Mpangeni-richards Bay) mayor Mdu Mhlongo; Msunduzi (Pietermaritzburg) mayor Mzi Thebolla; Ugu district mayor Sizwe Ngcobo; Mlungisi Ndlangisa, mayor of Okhahlamba (Bergville); and Bheki Mtolo of Kokstad.

Taking turns, the ANC mayors stuttered and struggled to provide coherent answers about failures in their municipalities. Instead, almost all the mayors placed the blame for their failure to provide basic water and sanitation services on rapid urbanisation or on infrastructure that was meant to accommodate fewer people.

Pietermaritzburg, the provincial capital, is known for its decaying central business district, uncollected waste and constant water and power cuts. Thebolla said they were working on turning the corner.

“I believe that the turnaround strategy that we have developed puts us in a place where we can safely say we are ready to get out of administration.

“Of course, that decision is the decision of the provincial government, not of Msunduzi. In terms of us being labelled the ‘City of the Filthy’, I again believe we have turned the corner in that area.

Ngcobo blamed the years-long and perennial water cuts – which have crippled the once shining coastal resort towns of Margate, Ramsgate and Port Shepstone – on vandalism and ageing infrastructure that is being placed under pressure due to the migration of people from rural to urban areas.