GOOD Statement by Suzette Little,
GOOD City of Cape Town Councillor & Caucus Chairperson
27 July 2023
The GOOD party condemns the DA for recklessly borrowing money linked to the unstable rand.
Last year, a French bank approached the city with an unsolicited offer of a loan.
The city was not looking to borrow money and had no projects that required funding.
In April 2023, GOOD disagreed with the borrowing and mentioned that many of the issues raised by the APAC (Audit and Performance Audit Committee) as well as the National Treasury were not answered.
National treasury wrote to the city in February 2023 asking them to comply with this regulation of the Municipal Finance Management Act Section 47 of the MFMA which clearly states that any debt incurred by local government must be in rands or must not be affected by fluctuations in the value of the rand against any foreign currency.
The APAC report before the council questioned the fact that no projects were identified for the loan and that the city had R8-billion cash in the bank, rendering the loan unnecessary.
Despite the warnings, the city officials blatantly ignored the advice and objections and took out a loan in euros.
The original loan of 100-million euros would provide the city with a loan of
R1.9-billion.
However, with the fluctuation of the rand the Loan has now increased to R2.1-billion an increase of R200-million.
Today the DA brought the item back to the council to claim they did not know the rand value would fluctuate and it was not their fault.
This is not the first time this DA-led Government has violated the trust of the residents by spinning the truth and claiming ignorance.
Ultimately it is the city’s residents who will pay for this ‘error”.
The residents have already been burdened by high electricity costs and increased tariffs. Their wallets are stretched thin.
The GOOD party will approach the office of the Auditor General, to consider the validity of this loan.
Should this loan be found to be fruitless and wasteful, we request those who approved the loan, be held accountable.
Media Enquiries:
Suzette Little, GOOD City of Cape Town Councillor
Cell: 073 321 5036
Email: suzettel@forgood.org.za
Samantha Jackson, GOOD Acting Media Manager
Cell: 083 550 9875
Email: media@forgood.org.za