MAKHADO (LOUIS TRICHARDT) – Is the Makhado Municipality using taxpayers' money to further the ANC's election campaign?

The controversial posters (bottom) printed and posted by the Makhado Municipality in the colours of the ANC.

This question was publicly posed this week when the election posters of political parties on display in town were suddenly joined by posters put up by the municipality to publicise its performance. The posters are not printed in the colours of the Makhado Municipality, but in the colours of the ANC.

The municipal manager, Mr Ruben Rambado, denied that the municipal posters had anything to do with the election. He said on Wednesday that it was in celebration of 10 years of democracy. He confirmed that the posters are funded from the municipality's publicity budget.

In a media release, the Democratic Alliance said: "We are surprised that, all of a sudden, a few weeks before a very important election, the municipality put up posters to boost their alleged performance. It seems clear that this forms part of the ANC election campaign and that this has nothing to do with the activities of this municipality.

"The DA wonders whether the continued allegations of corruption and misuse of public funds made the ANC so desperate that they would do anything to try and convince disillusioned voters that they are worth anything. It seems a joke that so much money has allegedly been spent, but no report exists on how much of that money was spent on real delivery and how much was lost through corruption and mismanagement. It is easy to put figures on paper, and it is just as easy to tell only part of the truth to make it seems better than it is. The fact that the municipal posters are printed in the ANC colours further confirms that this is just part of the ANC election campaign."

The DA says the electorate should stand up against the misuse of taxpayers' money and to demand real delivery.