BCM takes salary fight to Pretoria

A HIGH-POWERED delegation of senior officials from Bhisho and the Buffalo City Metro turned to Pretoria for help yesterday after deadlocking on a salary upgrade dispute.

Led by provincial local government department superintendent-general Stanley Khanyile and BCM city manager Andile Fani, the delegation met with national Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) acting director-general Muthotho Sigidi to resolve issues surrounding the metro’s upward grading and pay hikes.

Khanyile’s department has clashed with the metro recently after councillors forced Fani to increase their salaries.

A total of R12-million was paid out in backdated salaries a fortnight ago to bring councillors to the same level as other grade six municipalities.

However, Local Government MEC Mlibo Qoboshiyane had not agreed that BCM should be upgraded to a grade six institution.

Qoboshiyane described the payout to councillors as having been irregular and illegal, and said it would amount to unauthorised expenditure.

Buffalo City was a grade four municipality before last year’s local government elections and obtaining metro status.

On March 8 this year, the metro application for grade five status was approved by Qoboshiyane and municipal salaries increased by 5%.

The city later lodged another application asking for their grading to be further escalated to grade six.

In order to be approved as a grade six municipality, the local authority must have a total municipal income of more than R2.1billion (excluding VAT and conditional grants), a revenue collection rate of 93% or more, and a population of more than 500 000.

Khanyile cited the city’s failure to meet the threshold of R2.1-billion total municipal income as one of the reasons BCM should remain at grade five level.

However, before Qoboshiyane could approve the latest application, councillors resolved the administration pay them increases in line with a grade six municipality.

Khanyile told the Bhisho legislature last week BCM did not meet the criteria to become a grade six municipality, and threatened legal action if the council politicians did not repay salaries they “illegally” cashed.

A series of meetings between the two parties followed and after last Wednesday’s deadlock, it was resolved Pretoria should be approached to help settle the matter.

Metro spokesman Keith Ngesi would not comment about the meeting, saying communication would be done through Qoboshiyane’s department.

Local government department spokesman Mvusiwekhaya Sicwetsha yesterday also would not reveal details of the meeting with Cogta.

“The delegation from the department and from BCM will meet with Cogta to drill down on all aspects that relate to the legality of the decision that was taken by the council on grade six and upper limits application,” Sicwetsha said last week.

By the time of going to print, details of what transpired in the meeting were still unknown. — asandan@dispatch.co.za