DA to refer Mayor's R756k Benz to Auditor General

The DA in Tlokwe municipality will request a forensic audit of the purchase of a R736 000 Mercedes Benz ordered by previous ANC mayor, Maphetle Maphetle.

The new official vehicle has not yet been delivered to the municipality because of the time it takes to install luxury customizations requested by Mr Maphetle.

These customized luxuries include rosewood interiors and leather seats.

DA mayor Annette Combrink has no intention of using the new vehicle as she feels her personal car, a silver VW Jetta, will suffice for her mayoral duties.

The DA will ask the Auditor General to look into this transaction and recommend ways for the exorbitant cost to be recouped so that money can be channelled to delivery projects in Tlokwe instead.

The municipality paid the money to the dealership at the end of the last financial year, before the car was delivered.

The municipality was loaned two courtesy cars while the luxury customizations on the new official vehicle were being installed.

A second courtesy car was ordered by the previous ANC administration after the first one was nearly written off in an accident while allegedly being driven by the mayor's driver.

As long as the DA governs Tlokwe we will make delivery our first priority and reject all luxury spending.

The DA calls on the ANC to learn from this example of delivery being applied in Tlokwe and DA governments elsewhere in the country.

Statement issued by Juanita Terblanche, DA MP for Tlokwe, February 4 2013

UPDATE:

Tlokwe Mayor's R736k Benz delivered to municipality

Former Tlokwe Mayor Maphetle Maphetle's R736 000 Mercedes Benz (image) has now been delivered to the municipality.

DA mayor Annette Combrink has no intention of using the new vehicle as she feels her personal car, a silver VW Passat, will suffice for her mayoral duties. 

This after several months wait due to luxury customizations requested by Mr Maphetle. These luxuries included rosewood interiors and leather seats.

The Tlokwe council, now under DA leadership, will begin the process of investigating the purchase of the vehicle.

As a first step, the transaction will be referred to the Auditor General (AG). The DA will be requesting the AG to make recommendations on how the exorbitant cost of the car can be recouped by the municipality.

We will do everything possible to channel the money that could potentially be recouped to delivery projects in Tlokwe instead.

In the short period the DA has been in government in Tlokwe we have staged numerous interventions to change the culture of municipal management.

We hope to use our term in office to make Tlokwe a more delivery-focused municipality.

In the event that the ANC does retake the council, we hope that delivery-focused governance will continue as it does in DA governments across the country.

Statement issued by Juanita Terblanche, DA MP for Tlokwe, February 5 2013

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