Johannesburg – A night vigil organised by eThekwini municipality to wait for matric results on Thursday has caused an uproar on social media, with the Democratic Alliance (DA) saying this type of wasteful expenditure was tantamount to fattening a pig on market day.
The 2016 national senior certificate results reflecting school or exam centres where candidates wrote are set to be published on Thursday.
Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga announced the overall 2016 matric results and pass rate on Wednesday, with the national pass rate at 72,5 percent.
According to a social media poster, eThekwini Municipality was set to hold a night vigil at Centrum Park, near The Workshop, where some of Durban's famous artists like T'zozo, Babo and Sgwili are set to perform.
But DA provincial leader in KwaZulu-Natal, Zwakele Mncwango, lashed out at the municipality for the night vigil, saying the money could have been better spent on immediate needs of student funding as tertiary institutions would be opening soon.
"eThekwini Municipality spends more than R150 million a year on unnecessary and fruitless events while we are facing Fees Must Fall campaign. Why can't we assist Fees Must Fall students?" Mncwango said.
"I always argue that instead of wasting public funds on such events, rather the municipality assist poor students with university fees."
Mncwango questioned how a prayer could help students when they have already written their exams, saying it would have been understandable had it been held before the exams.
"This is unnecessary. We cannot have a prayer on the night of the results when students had already written exams. This prayer will not change anything. Matriculants will not afford registration fees as from next week. A visionary mayor would have opted to fund registration instead of this prayer event," Mncwango said.
"The ANC also argues that it is not municipalities' competence to fund education. Yes, that's true. But empowerment through education is better than wasting money on alcohol and events."
There was a figure of R6 million being brandied about on social media as the amount the event will set back ratepayers. However, eThekwini Municipality was not immediately available for comment.
Mncwango added that this night vigil might have been one of the reasons why former municipal manager, Sbu Sithole, was suspended 12 days before his contract expired.
Sithole was rumoured to have raised the ire of Mayor Zandile Gumede after declining to sign off some tenders and projects he deemed unnecessary.
"We will be writing to acting city manager to seek clarity on the expenditure of this event."