KSD ward committee members want stipend increased

Ward committee members in the Mthatha-based King Sabata Dalindyebo local municipality want their monthly stipends to be increased from R2,500 to R12,000.

They said the present amount was not enough for them to do their work and be able to feed themselves and their families.

Ward committees act as a link between ward councillors and their communities.

They organise service delivery meetings, among other things, and respond to service delivery matters in their communities.

In KSD, each of the 36 municipal wards consists of 10 ward committee members, five responsible for service delivery matters in residential suburbs, townships, informal settlements and villages.

This means KSD has about 360 ward committee members.

The Municipal Structures Act of 1998 stated that municipalities were required to develop mechanisms to consult communities and community organisations in performing their functions and exercising their powers.

So ward committees provided a vital link between ward councillors, the community and the municipalities.

Ward 11 committee member Mnikelo Ncelane said this week: “We want to do our work successfully, but we can’t at the moment.

“You have to use the stipend to buy airtime to make phone calls because we work with different areas. You have to buy data and organise meetings.”

Ncelane works with communities in Marhambeni, Mandela Park in the Mthatha West area and Mdesalini village.

He said some ward committee members lived with disabilities, but when the monthly stipend ran out they were still expected to walk long distances to villages as part of their work.

Some, including women, were even forced to walk through forests separating villages, thereby risking their lives.

“We want to be trained and helped with resources once our term is over because we have seen how many other former ward committee members are now struggling after their terms as ward committee members ended,” Ncelane said.

He said while their monthly statements reflected that they were employed as casuals, when they tried to apply to NSFAS for their children, their applications were rejected as the system registered them as being permanently employed by the municipality.

Nkosibiphi Deme, who works with people living with disabilities in six villages in ward 14, described the R2,500 monthly stipend as a drop in the ocean.

“We are now in deep debt because some of us have to go to loan sharks when the money runs out.”

Zandile Matikinca, who works with the business sector from Upper Qunu all the way to Mtentu, said they had engaged with KSD council speaker Nomanfengu Siyo-sokutu earlier this year to have the stipend increased to at least R5,000 because they covered large areas in their work.

In a petition handed over to KSD mayor Nyaniso Nelani, following a protest march last week, the aggrieved ward committee members said: “The issue of conflict between Russia and Ukraine has far-reaching implications on the global economy and consequently affects the cost of living in our community.

“As a ward committee, we are tasked with the responsibility of advocating for the best interests of our constituents and ensuring their wellbeing in the face of such external crises.

“The escalating wars and geopolitical tensions have exerted undue pressure on our local economy, leading to a significant rise in the cost of living for residents.

“In light of these challenges, we urge the executive mayor to consider the critical role played by ward committees in addressing socioeconomic issues at grassroots level.

“Therefore we demand a substantial increment in the remuneration of ward committee members to a minimum of R12,000.”

They also wanted the municipality to provide training opportunities such as NQF Level 5 certification and for KSD to prioritise the employment of ward committee members on the completion of their term.

But Nelani’s spokesperson, Olwethu Mabovula, said on Monday, ward committees were supposed to be getting between R1,000 and R1,500 as per Cogta policy and the Municipal Structures Act.

However, the municipality had decided to add an extra R1,000 to their monthly stipends.