Municipal officers to get 7.1% pay hike

Executives reward themselves for failure to deliver, charges ANC

SOME of the City of Cape Town’s top executives will be getting a whopping 7.1% salary increase. ANC provincial secretary Faiez Jacobs caused a stir on social media, posting a picture of proposed increases for top officials of 17%, suggesting this was the reason the City of Cape Town wanted to drastically hike water, electricity and rates tariffs.

Positions, including the City’s municipal manager, chief financial officer, the executive director of safety and security, the executive director for informal settlements, water and waste services and the commissioner for transport and urban development authority were all to receive a raise, according to Jacobs.

The City has, however, have rejected these claims.

“Regrettably, an error crept into an annexure table in the City’s tabled (draft) budget. The typo caused the figure to read 17% and not 7.1%. The City sincerely apologises for this error. Such errors really are uncharacteristic of our budgets. This has not impacted on the budget numbers and amounts in any way.

“The figure was only stated in one particular table, which serves as an annexure to the budgeted amounts-related information. This reporting error will be corrected when the final budget is adopted in May 2018,” the City’s mayoral committee member for finance, Johan van der Merwe, said.

He emphasised the need for a water tariff hike.

“The impact of the current water crisis is clearly evident in this year’s budget. There is a need to increase our water and sanitation tariffs substantially to enable us to continue supplying water and providing sanitation services. No profit is made from tariffs,” he said.

Earlier this year, the City suspended its transport commissioner, Melissa Whitehead, over tender irregularities. The decision was made in a closed council meeting. Whitehead is expected to face a disciplinary inquiry on four misconduct charges involving the tenders for buses, the loss of bus fares and nepotism.

Jacobs hit back at the City, with the 7.1% increase still well above inflation. “If it was a typing error I want to see it, because no management can get an increase like that for their failure to deliver,” he said.

Jacobs said there was growing tension in the City, and it was evident to see.

“This is a city in a crisis. It has instability and there is massive arrogance in the City,” Jacobs said. “The budget is clear that it’s not for the people. It lacks public participation and it shows that it (the City) is uncaring.”

THIS IS A CITY IN CRISIS. IT HAS INSTABILITY AND MASSIVE ARROGANCE. THE BUDGET IS CLEAR… THAT IT’S NOT FOR THE PEOPLE