We call on the Municipality to:

1) Reverse approved increase on clothing allowance for VIP guards resulting in R2million rand expenditure on suits for bodyguards.

2) Municipality must identify other luxury and none-essential expenditures by the city not yet exposed to the public and direct these funds to pro-poor initiatives.

3) Allocate that available funding to programs supporting the poor and needy residents of Durban including  the homeless people in our city.  

4) The municipality must expand programs against Gender Based Violence. 
 

5) The Municipality must improve living conditions of the elderly in state supported facilities. 

6) The municipality must speed up the settlement of people in unsafe and undignified living informal settlements around our city. 

Why Should Tax and Rates Payers Support our petition:

Whereas our country is a constitutional democracy underpinned by values of human dignity; the achievement of equality and the advancement of human rights; freedom; non racialism and non-sexism;

Whereas the Municipal Financial Management Act 56 of 2003 requires municipalities to spend in a manner that creates public value

We strongly believe the approved increase in clothing allowance under the current economic and social challenges, is undermining our democracy. It is a appalling show of lack of care and compassion by ALL members of the Durban Council.

In a month where we celebrate lives lost fighting for the dignity of black people in our county, it is disappointing of the municipality to perpetuate a show of opulence at the expense of Tax payers.

Ethekwini community has lost lives and homes in the month of June and we expect our municipality to allocate resources to minimize the pain of the poor in this city and not splash on clothing allowances. This decision is a shame. Who purchases a new suite for R1200 each month?