Arrears shame

Ndlambe councillors, municipal staff owe council over R1.6m

MUNICIPAL account arrears owed by Ndlambe municipal staff and councillors up until June this year have been calculated at a whopping R1.63-million, and the balance on accounts over 90 days accounts in arrears is R46750 for councillors and R1 174 939 for municipal staff.

This was revealed at the full council meeting, held at the council chambers on Tuesday.

“This is unacceptable,” said Ward 10 councillor and DA whip Raymond Schenk. “Councillors must clear their debts with the council.”

Schenk went on to remind councillors that, as part of their code of practice, they were obliged to clear all debts within three months of assuming their positions on the council.

DA proportional representation councillor Skura Venene was even more pointed as he articulated his disappointment to the council.

“Next time we should publish the names of the councillors responsible and name and shame them.”

In total, the monies owed by the councillors amounts to R69 472 and includes debts to the council for, among other items, sewerage levies of R16 255, sundries (unspecified) at R12314 and water levies of R22 098.

Venene continued: “We are supposed to be role models to our constituents. How can we ask them to pay their municipal accounts when we do not?”

Municipal staff owe a total amount of R1 562 965, and many have stop orders attached to their wages/salaries in order to reduce their debt.

Again, water levies seem to be the area where most debt is incurred and, for municipal workers, this amounts to R637938.

Schenk said he believed that staff were abusing the system, but municipal manager Rolly Dumezweni had a more sympathetic explanation.

“Our staff are heavily indebted,” he said, but conceded that was no excuse.

“We are encouraging them [to pay] by offering them loans. There is no excuse,” Venene said.