The Democratic Alliance (DA) has sharply criticised the Emfuleni Speaker for squandering a staggering half a million rand on soccer tournaments, while vital services continue to crumble.
This follows the DA's questions tabled in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL) to Gauteng MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Jacob Mamabolo, who revealed that R606 377 was spent on hosting soccer tournaments over the past three years.
Mamabolo stated that the Speaker's Office has spent a total of R606 377 on hosting soccer tournaments over the past three years. Of this amount, R298 377 was spent in 2022,
R161 000 in 2023, and R147 000 in 2024.
He further revealed that the Speaker's Office received donations, including soccer kits, balls, trophies, tracksuits, medals, and certificates, all of which were awarded as prizes to the participating teams.
DA MPL Kingsol Chabalala voiced concerns over the misuse of public funds by Emfuleni officials, stating, 'We must question how over half a million rand was spent, especially given that the prizes awarded to the participating teams were donated to the municipality, rather than being purchased.’
Chabalala also pointed out that the funds spent on a few days' worth of events could have been better utilized to enhance the municipality's deteriorating sports infrastructure and support grassroots sports development.
He added that the shortage of services in Emfuleni was not caused by a lack of funding but by mismanagement of the available resources.
“This situation demonstrates that the residents of Emfuleni are not deprived of services due to a lack of funds, but rather because of poor financial management, ineffective leadership, and corruption, all of which must be strongly condemned,” said Chabalala.
He further emphasized that the DA in Gauteng will submit follow-up questions to MEC Mamabolo to demand full accountability for how every cent allocated to the Speaker's Office for these tournaments was spent.
Speaking to The Star, Emfuleni Municipality Communications Manager Makhosonke Sangweni acknowledged the matter, stating that while half a million rand was spent over three years, not all of the funds came from the municipality's budget.
“We are aware of this matter and yes the money was spent in the past 3 years in intervals but not all the money or expenditure came from our purse as some of the things that made this tournament a success were donated from business.”
He added that the games promote social cohesion and are part of the Council's efforts to stay connected with communities while strengthening relationships between residents and the municipality.
In recent years, the municipality has come under intense scrutiny for its crumbling infrastructure and failure to deliver essential services, with funds being mismanaged and investigations piling up.
Most recently, the municipality sent shockwaves through the community by returning R640 million in unused funds to the Treasury, all while residents continue to suffer from crumbling infrastructure and a long-standing sewage crisis.
The Star