The Democratic Alliance (DA) can reveal that the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has spent R69 million on 15-year-old security equipment, worth no more than R3.3 million. This equates to an overspend of approximately 2000%.
All this while children are murdered, gang violence spirals out of control and vandalism wreaks havoc on public infrastructure.
After a protracted court battle with Afrisec, which has already been paid R36 522 490.08 (ex VAT) for equipment that has just sat collecting dust in a warehouse, the municipality has now also paid Afrisec a further R26 million as part of an out of court settlement, on top of legal fees amounting to R6 412 348.82.
The R26 million settlement was funded by moving money out of directorates’ vacancies budgets, directly impacting their ability to fill critical service delivery roles. For example, R3 224 189 was taken from “Roads Workshop” and R5 430 274 was taken from “Metro Police, Security and Law Enforcement”.
The list of 15-year-old equipment that the municipality is now able to use includes 260 cameras, switches, lightning protection rods, circuit breakers, cabling, and servers. Security experts have confirmed that much of the equipment is now obsolete and probably only worth between R2.5 million – R3.3 million.
I have written to the Public Protector asking for a full investigation into this security deal scandal, which has once again seen public money squandered, while our mothers, fathers, daughters, and sons are left to fend for themselves against an epidemic of crime.
If elected Mayor, I commit to installing at least 200 high-tech cameras in crime hotspots. I will ensure that the Joint Operations Centre is fully operational and that all camera feeds are monitored 24/7 so that the moment a crime occurs, emergency services can be dispatched.
Every single cent of public money will be spent on services, and I will ensure absolute value for money on every single transaction.
We can get NMB working again.