By Obakeng Maje

The DA will call for an independent forensic investigation into Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality’s R2.3 million spending spree for last week’s State of the District address.

The DA will also submit questions to the office of the Speaker demanding an explanation following reports that the Supply Chain Management policy was not adhered to.   

“It is unacceptable that R2.3million was spent on a single State of the District Address, while people in Ratlou and the rest of the district are suffering without water” DA Jacquline Theologo said.

DA said there was no council Resolution approving this level of expenditure on the State of the District Address as well as the Gala dinner hosted by acting Exective Mayor Maria Monnana.

“The communities living in the most rural areas of the district have to walk kilometres to fetch water for their households with the villages of Logageng and Magori in the Ratlou Municipality being the most severely affected” said Theologo.

Both these villages are situated in a very vast area with boreholes that are not functioning due to a lack of pumping equipment. 

The communities in those areas are dependent on the supply of fresh water by Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality water tankers twice a week. Unfortunately insufficient tankers and the short supply of fuel curtail the delivery of water.

However the interim mayor refutes the reports. The mayor said the figure supplied was wrong.

The DA believes R2.3 million could have gone a long way to equip those bore holes with tanks, pumps and all relevant equipment to supply these communities with water.

“The ANC are quick to remove people for internal factional reasons but not for the blatant wasting of resources as we have seen with the recent removal of the mayors of Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality and the Ramotshere Moiloa Local Municipality” said DA in the province.

“Nothing less than a full investigation into this wasteful spending is needed to enforce accountability from the municipality for the real needs of district residents” Theologo concludes.

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