Pretoria - The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) and the opposition ANC in Tshwane on Monday lambasted the city for non-payment of employees’ salaries.
Councillor Joel Kgomotso Masilela ka Mahlangu, ANC Greater Tshwane caucus spokesperson said the municipality was in financial straits.
“The ANC Tshwane caucus management is shocked at the minority coalition government led by the DA/Action SA/FFplus/Cope/ACDP faking the claim of running a responsive administration. The municipality is in dire financial straits and has in the recent past had its fleet parked due to the unavailability of diesel as it (municipality) had no monies to pay service providers for the supply of diesel,” said Masilela ka Mahlangu.
“The financial challenges in the city went on to cost the very ratepayers and those who ride on city buses as they had to effect alternative plans to get to their different destinations. The city, since 2016 to date has been plunged into a deep financial crisis by the administration of minority political parties who have no clue about running the affairs of the city. This has even resulted in the municipality being downgraded to junk status and hasn’t been able since then to go to the debt capital market to access bridge financing.”
He said the problems “have now seeped into the very fibre of the city, affecting a very critical component of the municipality; its workers – who are demoralised due to a number of factors, including the unavailability of tools of trade”.
“Additionally, outstanding payments on overtime as well as bargaining council agreements that the city has not effected in full, to date. The municipality has also not paid its hard-working councillors who are always on the ground trying to calm tension in communities as an end result of the incompetencies of this administration,” he added.
“The (ANC) caucus leadership condemns the actions of this administration in being insensitive towards those who are at the coalface of service delivery both councillors and the employees who work under extreme pressure with no morale support.”
IOL has seen a note addressed to Tshwane workers from Finance MMC Peter Sutton indicating the delay in payment of salaries was not from the city’s side.
“Update Salary Payments 07:00. Morning colluegues (sic), I confirmed that there is no delay in salary payments from the city side. All payment files were submitted, on time, as normal last week and salaries paid on time.
“Absa clients cleared and it seems many other banks not yet. There could be a number of reasons for this but it is not a City of Tshwane delay in payment submission.
“I know many people would want to drive the narrative that we failed to pay salaries as the city has cash flow problems but this is simply not true. All salaries was paid in time from our side. I asked the teams to investigate this matter and provide me with feedback,” the Tshwane MMC said in the note.
Later on Monday, Samwu said workers in Tshwane did not get paid their salaries and the union had “engaged the city”.
“As usual they are evading responsibility blaming it all in Absa. It is important to state that this is not happening for the first time this is now happening for the second time if not the third time and workers again are the ones that feels the wrath of the debit orders upon reversal yet the city does not do anything about such,” Samwu’s regional office-bearers wrote to Samwu shop stewards in a note seen by IOL.
“This clearly shows that time has come for the CFO Mr Umar Banda to vacate the office of the chief financial officer in the city especially given the fact that he is working on three months extended contract, if he is not sleeping on duty then he is forever absent from duty.
“The city cannot even start to try to explain what the course (sic) is. Instead, Alderman (MMC) Sutton responds from an uninformed point. We would like to make it clear to Alderman Sutton that hands off the administration this is a pure administrative matter MMC, focus on the oversight meetings and assist with service delivery issues.”
Earlier this month, there was a sigh of relief across Tshwane, as the disconnection of the city threatened by Eskom to the metro was averted.
This was after the city announced it had settled its outstanding debt of R1.6 billion.
IOL