A water laboratory in Kestell has consumed R6.7 million during the current financial year without obtaining accreditation or producing a single full water test report, five years after the project was launched.

The facility remains without a sustainable funding model, with questions raised about expenditure and the use of a R2.5 million allocation received from the Free State Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA).

The Democratic Alliance has called for the project to be scrapped and for the Auditor-General to investigate what it describes as fruitless expenditure.

The R2.5 million from COGTA has come under scrutiny after questions were raised about why the money is recorded in the municipality’s Grants Register, despite no grant funding being involved.

The municipality’s chief financial officer explained that the money was intended exclusively for operating expenditure and could not be used for salaries. However, only R212 118 had been spent on operating expenses, with the remainder used for salaries.

The district municipality is now having to find a contractor to supply and calibrate equipment, provide consumables and undertake training.

A memorandum of understanding signed in 2021, when the laboratory was donated to the municipality, has complicated the funding issue. According to the DA, commitments in the agreement have not been honoured by COGTA, with the R2.5 million being the only funding received.

During the budget process, the DA questioned the continuation of the project, arguing that operating a water-testing laboratory is not a core function of the municipality and therefore does not qualify for conditional grant funding.

The party has called on the Auditor-General to investigate the expenditure.

The DA has also demanded a breakdown of the municipality’s travelling expenditure after spending reached 469% of the travelling reimbursement budget. The party highlighted R278 532 spent on travel agency services over a two-month period.

DA councillor Leona Kleynhans accused the municipality of diverting its attention and resources away from core functions.

“It is clear that this municipality is achieving almost nothing in its core functions, but instead insists on acting as a feeding scheme, travel agency and catering company for the Executive Mayor’s vanity projects,” she said.

Kleynhans said a DA-led municipality would prioritise the district’s core responsibilities, particularly disaster management and environmental health.

“The health and safety of our residents must be the priority,” she said.