BY OBAKENG MAJE
THE Greater Taung Local Municipal Manager, Katlego Gabanakgosi refutes the media reports that the Municipal Mayor Kaone Lobelo did not follow proper channels to purchase a SUV car.

Gabanakgosi was referring to the reports that were published on Sunday newspaper (Sunday Times) that indicated that the mayor bought R1m BMW X5 without following proper channels.

“We can confirm that the new car that was bought for Greater Taung Municipal Mayor was not R1m and of course we followed all required procedures. The car that mayor was using was an old MLS Mercedes Benz and drove over 300 000 km.

“The mayor inherited that car from his predecessor and the car was bought back in 2010. The car had technical problems and we tabled that issue during council meeting. The budget of R750 000 was allocated for the new car to be bought. Municipality bought few new cars including Municipal Speaker’s and few bakkie too” Gabanakgosi said.

According to Gabanakgosi, they traded in a MLS Mercedes Benz valued at R150 000 and paid R750 000 so that they could get BMW X5.

He said the overall charges ranged at R915 000 including tracker device charges for the BMW X5.

“We have not violated any rule or regulation when purchasing that car. The car that the mayor used was always faulty and his safety was our first priority. The budget was discussed with council, all procurements were followed” Gabanakgosi said.

When we asked him if the municipality couldn’t buy the lesser amount car, Gabanakgosi quickly said they wanted to buy quality car which will be a long term investment. He further said that the roads in Taung are mostly not conducive, so the one they bought will adjust to the situation.

“We took into consideration the fact that quality of the car is much-important and that will be an investment. There is no law that highlights that the municipality does not have to buy the car they can afford” he said.

ACDP councillor, Gaolatlhwe Tshipo said they agreed during council meeting in buying a car worth R750 000 as that was the budget allocated.

“We can confirm that the budget for the car was allocated at the amount of R750 000, however if the amount exceeds that amount then we cannot condone that. Taung is poverty-stricken area, and most budget or amount must be allocated for service delivery” Tshipo said.

Gabanakgosi said they also followed all tender process and they chose the company that was lesser bidder.
-TDN
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