Questions are being raised about why the Gauteng provincial government spent more than R22 million in the last 17 months renting sound systems and stages for their events.
The DA in Gauteng says this is a waste of money since the provincial government has agreed to insource the equipment it needs for events through the Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation, which has procured the equipment on behalf of the provincial government.
“The shocking information emerged through written replies to questions posed by the DA in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL) to various provincial departments concerning the hiring of sound systems and stages,” said the DA’s Kingsol Chabalala.
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How each department spent on equipment
Here is a breakdown of how much each department spent:
- The Department of e-Gov, which is hardly seen addressing the public, spent R1 601 761.
- Community Safety, which lies in the premier’s office, spent R7 819 804.
- The Department of Health spent R14 470.
- The Department of Infrastructure spent R33 500.
- The Department of Education spent R1 791 295.
- The Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation spent R9 038 403.
- The Department of Social Development spent R140 367.
- The Department of Human Settlement spent R1 564 900.
Collectively, the spend on the events comes to R22 004 500.
Spending raises questions
“This wasteful expenditure occurred at a time when the people of our province are being deprived of essential services like water, electricity and proper sanitation, which is unacceptable and degrading.
Chabalala said it raises serious questions about whether the funds were used for legitimate purposes or diverted for personal benefit.
“The DA will write to Premier [Panyaza] Lesufi to ascertain why this reckless spending was allowed when procured gig-trucks remained unused. Gauteng residents deserve better than duplicated functions that waste resources and undermine service delivery,” said Chabalala.
Lesufi’s commitment
The release of the costs comes after Lesufi last year committed to insourcing equipment for the province’s events.
“The Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) took a decision to centralise service related to event equipment like PA systems to the Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation. This was to reduce the expenditure that was incurred by line items such as sound equipment, among others,” he said.
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