R4.3 million wasted on jumpsuits for safety wardens – DA

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Almost R800 was spent per jumpsuit, totalling R4.3 million rand has been wasted on procuring jumpsuits for the Community Safety Wardens programme.

These are the sentiments of the Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng Shadow MEC for Finance Adriana Randall, who said this wasteful expenditure at the expense of the taxpayers’ money, could have been used to improve service delivery in the province.

“The average price of a rubberised, reflective jumpsuit ranges from R200 to R369. We have long been advocating for establishing a proper costing model to ensure prices paid for products and services are market-related and not inflated, as in this case,” she explained.

Randall added that this information was revealed in a written reply to the DA’s questions tabled in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL) regarding the tender awarded for the provision of uniforms to the Community Safety Wardens. A total of 5616 jumpsuits have been procured.

According to the Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko, the tender was awarded to Triple Desire Trading and Projects 63 CC.

She continued; “This is a well-known company that often does business with the Gauteng Provincial Departments. The DA will be submitting follow-up questions to MEC Mazibuko to determine exactly how this company was selected as the preferred service provider, why the cost of the jumpsuit is so high, and whether the director of the company is related to the former Mayor of Musina, Mihloti Muhlope”.

Randall stated that Gauteng residents deserve to have a government in place that will ensure that for every rand spent, there is value for money.

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“A responsible government will not be paying close to R800 for one uniform. Instead, will seek out the best quote that will provide value for money while not taking away money that can be used to improve service delivery,” she concluded.