Get your money’s worth

In the coming year, businesses and individuals with cash to spare may be able to snap up any of 265 properties owned by Makana Municipality in Grahamstown. These were identified in a land audit by the town planning section and Council this week approved that they be sold to raise revenue for the cash-strapped municipality. Some are earmarked for sale to individuals, while other land is intended for sale to developers, usually because it lacks existing infrastructure.

Also in this week’s Council agenda is a report listing the upper limits of salaries, allowances and benefits for Council members gazetted in December. Part-time councillors, according to Cogta, should receive a 4% increase in their packages, and all councillors get an increase in their cellphone allowance from R1 739 a month to R1 900 a month and councillors can be reimbursed for up to R300 a month in data.

While the local government MEC must concur with Council’s approval of the upper payment limits for councillors, we thought you’d be interested to know what your councillors could be earning this year in Makana Municipality, whose Grade 3 status is determined by its population and municipal income.

Mayor

Salary: R483 233 Travel allowance: R189 503 Cellphone allowance: R22 800 Pension contribution: R85 276 Reimbursive Datacard: R3 600 Total: R784 412

Speaker

Salary: R386 586 Travel allowance: R151 603 Cellphone allowance: R22 800 Reimbursive Datacard: R3 600 Pension Contibution: R68 221 Total: R632 810

Part-time MPAC chairperson

Total: R331 345

5 Portfolio Chairpersons

R2 974 550 (R594 910 each)

19 other part-time councillors

R5 016 380 (R264 020 each) Total of Councillor Allowances is R9 739 497

What that means is you have the right to make sure you get your money’s worth – which doesn’t just mean by being there when drama unfolds during Council meetings.

At least get to know who the councillor is for your area, and what they are doing.