Residents in and around the Emfuleni municipality within the Vaal area in Gauteng are up in arms over allegations of inflated installation prices for new street lights in their area.
The controversy surrounds the installation of solar-powered street lights, which were meant to improve safety and security in the community.
However, documents obtained by local activists and seen by The Star, reveal that the installation price may have been grossly inflated.
The publication can reveal that the municipality installed nine solar high-mast lights at an inflated price of R3 742 893,36 while the Midvaal Municipality installed similar lights for R500 000.
Emfuleni Municipality has been hogging the headlines recently having been in serious debt that has marred service delivery plunging it in a financial crisis.
Last month, reports were rife that the local municipality could not pay employees salaries and owed Eskom about R8 billion for electricity supply.
The community has given its Mayor Sipho Radebe until today to resign or face a motion of no confidence from the Democratic Alliance (DA).
However, community leaders have pointed a finger at the Department of Infrastructure and Development MEC Jacob Mamabolo, saying that he has not been doing anything while monies have been squandered in the municipality.
“We are talking about millions of rand that could have been used to benefit our community, but instead, it seems to have lined the pockets of corrupt officials,” said a local resident and community leader.
The community is demanding answers from Mamabolo and has threatened to take action if those responsible were not held accountable.
“This is unacceptable and we will not stand for it,” said another concerned resident. “We deserve transparency and accountability from our leaders.”
The alleged price inflation has sparked widespread outrage, with the community calling for a full investigation into the matter and raising questions about corruption and accountability within local government.
“We need to get to the bottom of this and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice… This is not just about the money; it’s about the trust and faith we have placed in our leaders… We will not rest until we see change.
“This is a wake-up call for all of us… We need to be vigilant and ensure that our leaders are working for us, not against us,” the community leader said.
When The Star spoke to the community leaders over the phone, they asked not to be named as they feared for their lives for speaking up.
“Ka kopo (please) don’t name us. These people are giving us death threats everyday because we are speaking up,” another leader said.
Speaking to Mamabolo last night, he conceded that he was aware of the matter, however, he promised The Star that he would comment on the matter but has since gone silent.
Radebe’s phone was off and he did not respond to text messages.
Speaking to The Star, DA member of legislature Kingsol Chabalala said that the Midvaal Municipality paid about R500 000 for lights which were better than the ones installed in Emfuleni.
“The lights were installed just before elections and Mzi Khumalo was the MEC. We have asked for a thorough investigation by the MEC. Failure to do that, we are going to refer this the law enforcement agencies for investigation.
“I am hoping the investigation we have requested will uncover that also what we establish is the number of quotations the municipality received and what other companies were quoting,” he said.
He said that they had received the information from Mamabolo in a written reply to the questions tabled by the DA in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature.
“According to MEC Mamabolo, Emfuleni hired Ngwato Engineering Services to install nine solar high mast lights for R8 280 000,” Chabalala said.
The Star