Arends says nay to more pay
KNYSNA - A vote to increase the salaries of Knysna councillors by about R1,6m annually was sunk at last week’s special council meeting with an unexpected “no” vote from inside the ruling ANC alliance.
With the PA having returned to the ANCled alliance, which includes the PBI and EFF too, the vote in favour of the “about” 10% increase for all elected executives and councillors looked a foregone conclusion – until ANC councillor for Ward 11, Russel Arends, broke ranks and voted with the DA and Knysna Independent Movement (Kim) against the motion. Now Arends, the Garden Route district representative, will face the music in front of his ANC caucus.
ANC Knysna regional spokesperson Moyisi Magalela said the ANC will deal with the matter of Arends internally.
“He will be given an opportunity to state his case for his action,” said Magalela in a statement to the KPH.
Arends said, “For now I won’t respond”. Kim’s Susan Campbell said of Arends, “Give credit where credit’s due”.
‘Service above self-interest’
The increases for the mayor, deputy mayor, speaker, other executives and ordinary councillors would have added R1,3m to Knysna Council’s annual salary bill. With backpay, this amounts to R1,6m. Kim said in a social media statement that, in the special council meeting on Thursday 28 September, Arends “put service delivery above self-interest and people before party”.
“Politics is messy and coalition politics even more so,” reads the statement. “All too often, service delivery and the need of constituents are last in the queue. Political representatives who do not vote with their party caucuses, often incur the wrath of their political bosses and risk being removed from Council.”
The salaries of councillors are regulated by the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs. In August, the minister promulgated salary increases for municipal councillors – and Thursday’s meeting had to decide whether the increases would be implemented. “Due to the precarious financial position of the municipality”, Kim and the DA argued against increases, while the ANC, supported by its coalition partners including the PA, PBI and EFF, proposed that the increases be backdated to 1 July 2022.
“The matter was put to the vote and a salary increase seemed inevitable,” said Kim on its Facebook post. Arends ‘quietly’ put up his hand and voted against an increase.
“Thanks to Councillor Arends the vote against higher pay for councillors therefore won the day. We have come to know Councillor Arends as a quiet, humble man, who is serious about serving his community. Today he proved that he is also a man of integrity and courage: someone who is prepared to risk his political future to do what is right. Hopefully his principled stance will inspire other councillors to follow his example,” added Kim.
The increases would have added, with backpay, R1,6m to Knysna Council’s annual salary bill.
‘Commendable’ stance
Sharon Sabbagh, the DA’s Ward 9 councillor, said Arends’ stance was commendable. She said the ANC alliance had attempted to record the vote “illegally” in favour of the salary increases, but at the insistence of the DA the vote was recorded again, with the “no” vote from Arends carrying the day. The PA again voted with the alliance in favour of the salary increases.
Race issues ‘sorted’
According to PA national spokesperson Steven Motale, all issues between the PA and the ANC have been sorted out. He said the PA wanted coloured, white, Indian and black officials (referring to the recent appointments of five black directors in the Knysna municipality). “We don’t want all black. The DA had a chance to work with us and change the government but refused to bury their hatred for us. We were willing to bury our differences with them for the sake of the residents,” said Motale.