Victory! ActionSA welcomes KZN EDTA’s withdrawal of R28 million vanity splurge on the SAMAs

25 October 2023

ActionSA welcomes KZN EDTEA's withdrawal of the planned R28 million splurge on the SAMAs. This comes after ActionSA's persistent demand to halt the plan, which resulted in a cumulative total of R53 million of taxpayers' money being inappropriately earmarked, a plan that both EDTEA and the eThekwini Municipality simply cannot justify.

We thank the MEC for heeding our calls after we sounded the alarm earlier this month.

From the outset, we asserted that this was either an ill-advised attempt by the government to waste taxpayers’ money on a vanity project or a potentially sinister ploy, considering the absence of an itemized budget with accurate and substantiated figures.

As previously communicated, EDTEA planned to spend R28 million on the SAMAs without the necessary approval, diverting funds from other programs that, in our view, lacked fiscal justification. Furthermore, eThekwini Municipality Mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda’s unilateral committal of an additional R25 million for hosting the SAMAs was done without prior council approval. This led us to believe that this must be stopped.

ActionSA stressed the inappropriate nature of the R53 million commitment by the cash-strapped KZN Provincial Government and eThekwini Municipality. This commitment was made despite the decrepit state of infrastructure and the ongoing recovery efforts in a Province still grappling with the devastating aftermath of the July 2021 Riots and the April 2022 Floods.

Surely, EDTEA's focus and resources could find better expression in addressing the urgent economic challenges affecting the Province, especially among the youth.

ActionSA will continue to fight against the wastage of taxpayer funds and ensure that the KZN Government and eThekwini Municipality prioritise service delivery and economic development.

Issued by Zwakele Mncwango, ActionSA KZN Provincial Chairperson, 25 October 2023