R309m in kitty for councillor bonuses

THE government is set to spend hundreds of millions of rands to give councillors who have not been re-elected a three-month golden handshake.

The national cabinet decision applies to all municipalities in the country.

However, the provincial cooperative governance department does not have final figures of the councillors who are supposed to be paid, or how much would be paid in the Eastern Cape.

Department MEC Fikile Xasa said yesterday the Eastern Cape would only know the number of councillors eligible for the exit packages during the course of this week.

“Officials have the gazette of those coming in. The Electoral Commission has gazetted these councillors,” Xasa said.

National spokesman Legadima Leso said the exact number of councillors would only be finalised after all municipal councils had been set up.

Beneficiaries would then be identified.

The government said on Friday the councillors would receive a gratuity payment.

As a result, Treasury had made R309.3-million available in this year’s medium-term expenditure framework.

“The department will have to stay within the budgeted R309-million,” Leso said.

Buffalo City (East London) councillors take home at least R36 000 a month, so the packages will be R108 000 each.

For the 12 councillors so far known to be leaving, this is already R1.3-million without the ANC contingent.

That, however, is but a drop in the ocean as the Eastern Cape has 39 councils and the country 278.