IN a bid to ensure that every cent of tax-payers goes towards the improvement of their well-being, eThekwini Municipality Mayor Councillor Mxolisi Kaunda, has called city officials to fast track auditing of all monies spent to date as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Mayor emphasised that the audit, which is currently underway, is meant to assure residents that the city received value for money on every cent spent and that procurement processes were above board.
On 08 May 2020, Kaunda launched the R66 million worth of Covid-19 social relief plan in KwaNyuswa. This has seen 1000 households of each 110 wards having access to staple and nutritious food during the lockdown. This was in the form of food hampers and vouchers worth R600. This programme has been hailed as one of the biggest ever rolled out in the country.
“Working with our councillors we identified 1000 households in each ward that are extremely needy. A list with ID numbers was compiled where each beneficiary after receiving their food hampers and vouchers signed as evidence that they received what was due to them. This helped us to prevent fraudulent activities. We jealously guarded against this diverting from benefiting deserving families. Yes, we may not have reached everyone because of the number of people who are poor in our communities, but without any fear of contradiction we made a huge dent to poverty alleviation and we are very proud of making a difference. It is therefore of paramount importance that we commence with a thorough auditing. Anyone that would be found by this process to have short-changed the poor, would definitely face the full might of the law” said Kaunda.
The city also unveiled the sanitasation programme for 22 informal settlements, home to 1800 households, to arrest the spread of the Corona virus. The city has also started a process of sanitising public transport facilities to ensure that taxi and bus ranks are decontaminated.
To respond to the plight of the homeless people, the city also allocated funding to accommodate close to 2000 homeless people who are guaranteed three hot meals per day in eleven temporary shelters around the city.
In informal settlements and rural areas where there was no water, static tanks were distributed to ensure that residents have got access to clean drinking water.
The City allocated close to R600 million to respond the COVID-19. Kaunda said that it was important to note that the expenditure did not exceed the allocated budget.
