An internal report tabled before the corruption prone KwaDukuza Local Municipality council has revealed that a vehicle that was part of the mayoral fleet, and was supposedly parked because it was deemed unroadworthy, has raked a fuel bill of R17 216 33 in seven months.
What was bizarre was the fact that it is not known what the car was doing and where it was since its tracker was disconnected from the municipal tracking system for alleged “security purposes”.
The report was compiled after the car was photographed at Groutville High School last month dropping off school kids believed to be fathered by one of the senior political office bearers in the KwaZulu-Natal municipality.
This was despite Mayor Ali Ngidi and his deputy, Njabulo Cele, having had to use hired cars because the fleet left behind by former Mayor Lindiwe Nhaca and the late Thulani “Mbazo” Ntuli was said to have reached its lifespan.
The report noted that KDM 1 (Mayor’s car) and KDM 3 (Speaker’s car) were checked for fitness and parked at one of the municipal yards on 20 November 2024. However, KDM 2 was only parked on 17 February 2024, the day there was an uproar about the car being used for personal trips.
“It was noted that KDM 2 was parked at Lovoipierre yard (municipal yard) on 17 February 2025. The keys of KDM 2 were handed over to the Fleet Manager on 17 February 2025 by Mr R.V Gumede. The vehicle is currently parked at Lovoiperree yard,” reads the report.
The spokesperson for the KwaDukuza Local Municipality, Nokulunga Mashabane, did not respond when African Times asked about the car’s whereabouts and the purpose for which it was being used.
Mashabane promised to source the correct information and revert, an undertaking she did not honor.
Meanwhile, the National Treasury has turned down a request by the municipality to splash millions on new cars for Ngidi and Cele and dump the old ones.
The department said the cars the two wanted to dump still have low mileage (65 000 kms and 70 000 kms) and the municipality should investigate whether these cars can be restored to safe operation conditions through repairs or upgrades.
The KwaDukuza Local Municipality wanted to adjust its 2024-2025 budget so that it could have the money to buy the luxurious cars.
The DA in the municipality said such a move would take away funds from services that prioritise residents to satisfy politicians’ appetite for luxury SUVs.
“It simply cannot be a case of the KwaDukuza council discarding a functional fleet in the name of opulence. Even from the correspondence received from [the] National Treasury, the administration in the municipality failed to provide the relevant vehicle assessment reports, most likely to influence the decision of the treasury,” the DA said after the decision by the Treasury.
