Auckland council funds Congo radio show

A Congolese community group with about 80 members has received $13,500 in Auckland City Council grants since March 2000.

Much of the money has gone towards helping the group, the Congolese Community of New Zealand and Friends, produce a weekly programme on Planet FM called Allo Congo.

The Weekend Herald reported criticism on the Citizens & Ratepayers Now political group website "rateswatch" that the council in May 2006 approved funding of $1500 to the Congolese community to give it "cash for international phone calls back to Congo".

Website organiser Aaron Bhatnagar said the $1500 grant was highlighted by the website as an example of wasteful spending by the City-Vision-Labour controlled council.

Further Herald inquiries yesterday show that the $1500 was for telephone interviews with candidates of the five main parties for yesterday's Democratic Republic of Congo elections.

The interviews were broadcast on Allo Congo.

Producer of the programme Kaseba Mundele said there were three other Congolese community groups in Auckland. "We are not many in Auckland - we are from a certain tribe back home," said Mr Mundele, who estimated 40-50 members of his group would have heard the interviews, which were broadcast in French.

Mr Mundele said the weekly radio programme was successful "because it gives us news about home".

"That was an opportunity for people to be informed."

The chairman of the council committee which approved the grant, Cathy Casey, said yesterday the criticism on the website was "a bit rich".

She said the community development and equity committee approved the grant by consensus and three Citizens & Ratepayers Now members were on the committee of nine.

"A massive amount of work goes into hundreds of those grants totalling $400,000 and any member can raise an issue about them on the day."

Ms Casey said the Congolese community group had a "past receiving history" going back to 2000. She gave details of the grants totalling $12,000.

Council community resources manager Heather Owen said the community had a good track record with Auckland City in being always accountable for funding received.