Mbombela executive mayor Sibongile Makushe.
The mayor and municipal manager of the City of Mbombela have gone ahead with a R90 000 study trip to Kenya despite concerns about the cost of the programme and the value it will add to the municipality.
Mayor Sibongile Makushe and municipal manager Wiseman Khumalo participated in the second module of the Kenya-South Africa Economic Governance School in Mombasa from 21 to 27 May after the ANC used its majority in the council — 59 of 90 seats — to endorse the trip.
At a special council meeting on 12 May, opposition councillors questioned why the city was spending R92 481 on air tickets and a further $1 300 on the trip, and whether it would benefit the municipality.
Travel had originally been priced at R182 788, but this was more than halved after the mayor and municipal manager had downgraded their air tickets from business class to economy.
The cash-strapped municipality has received a series of disclaimers from the auditor general since 2016 and has suffered from serious liquidity problems since 2020.
Economic Freedom FIghters (EFF) councillor Gabisile Nkambule asked why the travelling allowances paid to the two officials had not been included in the original cost of the trip.
She said officials had failed to submit feedback reports from overseas trips they had taken at council cost, despite undertakings that they would do so.
There had also been no report back from the first module of the Kenya-South Africa governance programme, held in Pretoria earlier this year, Nkambule said.
Freedom Front Plus (FF+) councillor Ken Robertson questioned the affordability of the trip, and what effect the absence of the mayor and municipality manager for a week would have on the functioning of the city.
Democratic Alliance (DA) councillor Tersia Marshall said that “not one” of the feedback reports from previous study tours abroad had “showed any benefit to the residents of the municipality”, whose priorities were service delivery, in particular the fixing of potholes and streetlights in Mbombela.
Last year, the city spent R250 000 on sending two mayoral committee members to the Aids conference in Montreal, Canada, overruling requests from opposition councillors that they instead attend virtually at a cost of R16 000.
Marshall also questioned why Khumalo was participating in the trip because the letter sent to councillors stated that the invitation had been extended to only the executive mayor.
But acting executive mayor Dannison Mkhatshwa defended the study tour, saying the participants would learn “valuable lessons on various subjects” including “influx control pertaining to illegal immigrants”.
Mkhatshwa said Khumalo and Makushe would no longer fly business class to reduce the travelling costs and would deliver a report to council on their return, adding that the Kenya-South Africa programme had been approved by the national cabinet in 2020 and that the attendance of both mayor and municipal manager was “normal”.
He said Mbombela was the only municipality in Mpumalanga that had been invited to attend.
Speaker William Nkhatha said the travelling allowances had not been included in the original costing sent to council because of the variations in the rand to dollar exchange rate.
He said the tours should be seen as “part of the process to capacitate the attendees” as was the case with other training and skills development programmes attended by Mbombela councillors
He said the city could afford the trip, particularly after the move from business class to economy.
Both Robertson and DA chief whip Cyril Chuene requested that their objection to the council resolution endorsing the trip be formally recorded in the council minutes.
Despite the objection, the council resolved that the expenditure be approved and that the trip go ahead.
Mbombela spokesperson Joseph Ngala did not respond to questions from the Mail & Guardian.