City of Tshwane Executive Mayor Cilliers Brink has accused Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi of ‘blatantly’ ignoring requests to top up its ex gratia payment of R30 000 to the 28 Hammanskraal families who have lost their loved ones to the recent cholera outbreak.
However, in dismissing Brink’s assertions that the Premier ignored requests to help the families of the cholera victims, Lesufi’s spokesperson, Sizwe Pamla said the Province “responded comprehensively” to the cholera outbreak in Hammanskraal.
“Many provincial departments have offered and continue to support the affected families and the people of Hammanskraal. The provincial administration has widely communicated these interventions. The Mayor confuses suggestions as instructions to the Premier.
“The Mayor should resist the temptation to conclude that anyone who does not jump at his ideas must be motivated by the lowest possible motives. He should always strive to ensure that the service delivery process is about helping the people, not impressing others and seeking status,” he added.
The Department of Health said the death toll from the cholera outbreak stands at 43. Gauteng is the epicenter accounting for 35 deaths, Free State 2, Limpopo 4 and Mpumalanga 2.
Brink complained about Lesufi’s non response to his request at a media briefing on Tuesday where together with, MMC responsible for Finance, Peter Sutton and MMC responsible for Utilities, Regional Operations and Coordination, Themba Fosi bemoaned the municipality’s dire financial situation.
The City of Tshwane has reiterated that the source of the cholera outbreak has not been identified and that the bereaved Hammanskraal family had pleaded for assistance after they struggled to bury their love while some lost breadwinners to the outbreak.
Brink confirmed that the process to disburse the funds from his mayoral donations has started and there is a paper trial adding that he is in the process of speaking to the families about who is entitled to receive the money and that this can only happen after the funerals because the city has its own processes to follow.
“I can confirm the number of families is 28 and the process has now started. So everything has been confirmed. What I have done is I have reached out to the Premier of Gauteng Panyaza Lesufi to say we are able to give R30 000 per family.
“Will you be able as a province to top that up? I think we have written to him three times. He has responded zero times. But that is the commitment from the City of Tshwane. We apologise that it took so long but we do have to follow the internal system but that will be correlated and we will share any future information with the assistance of the families,” said Brink.
