DA Ephraim Mogale snubs luxury conference planned outside Tzaneen
MARBLE HALL – The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Ephraim Mogale Local Municipality has expressed concerns over the local municipality’s decision to host its ward committee conference at the luxury Karibu Lodge outside Tzaneen from 18 October until 20th.
The DA announced that it has written to the Limpopo MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), Basikopo Makamu to reassess the planned luxury conference outside the boundary of Ephraim Mogale.
“The Speaker, Rebecca Lentsoane, is planning the conference at the Karibu Lodge from 18-20 October for 220 delegates, an all expenses break-away including transport and blazer for the 180 ward committee members in attendance. The conference is going to be held outside the boundaries of Ephraim Mogale municipality and councilors will be able to claim travel costs for the 500km round trip,” explained Flip Jacobs, DA Caucus Leader in Ephraim Mogale Local Municipality.
Jacobs cited that it is concerning that 20 municipal officials will attend the conference while service delivery is non-existent. “The residents experience daily water outages and sewage leaks and the municipal roads are riddled with potholes. The DA will not be attending and will request a cost analysis of the conference. The exuberant costs incurred for this conference should have been spent on infrastructure maintenance to benefit all residents. Instead, the ANC cadres are being treated to a luxury break-away on the eve of the upcoming elections. The residents of Ephraim Mogale deserve better,” concluded Jacobs.
Ephraim Mogale Local Municipality noted Sekhukhune Time’s request for comment on the matter but it was not received on Wednesday, 11 October afternoon at the time of going to press.
