Buffalo City metro staff were paid overtime worth R28.5 million between July and September, yet they owe their own municipality a combined amount of nearly R20 million in unpaid rates.
This while the city has been complaining that some of its ratepayers were defaulting on payment, which had led to it experiencing serious cashflow problems.
According to a code of conduct for municipal staff members, they may not be in arrears to the municipality for rates and service charges for a period longer than three months, and a municipality may deduct any outstanding amounts from a staff member’s salary after this period.
The report stated that a stop order was being implemented for all municipal staff and councillors who were in arrears.
In mitigating the overspending on overtime, the municipality said, “an in-depth study [will] be undertaken on the overtime work in comparison to the service delivery need”.
The DA’s chief whip in the municipality, Anathi Majeke, stated: “The DA has previously highlighted this issue and inquired about the municipality’s corrective actions.
“While stop orders have been implemented, it remains concerning that these individuals continue to defy the law by owing the metro for a period of 120 days and longer, according to the report.”
Majeke added: “The DA is also alarmed by the excessive overtime costs, suggesting a disregard for overtime policies and an inconsistency with the financial recovery plan that was adopted by council.”
Metro spokesperson Samkelo Ngwenya said they were collecting the money owed by staff members by implementing monthly stop order deductions in terms of the Municipal Systems Act and the metro’s Credit Control Policy, but admitted they were faced with “challenges”.