The Democratic Alliance (DA) in uMgungundlovu District Municipality applauds the MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Sipho Hlomuka, for a decision not to go ahead with salary increases for Councillors in the District.
Three weeks ago the DA wrote to MEC Hlomuka calling for his intervention in terms of the Municipal Financial Management Act, 2003 (Act No.53 of 2003) not to increase salaries of public representatives in Mgungundlovu. We argued that the money should instead be redirected towards social relief programmes for the Coronavirus pandemic. In addition to that, we had raised concerns about the municipality’s cash flow problems. Currently, the municipality can barely afford its monthly operational costs.
We also hoped that the decision to increase salaries by 6.5% for Senior Managers would be reversed by Full Council, using the same reasons that the MEC and the DA mentioned, but the ANC used their majority to impose this decision.
While we are disappointed by the proposal of the ANC to renegotiate with the MEC for salary increases we are not shocked at all. The governing party has always been putting party before people. Their focus remains self-enrichment rather than the plight of residents.
In the previous virtual Full Council meeting, the ANC rejected the proposals made by the DA to offer Covid-19 relief for both individuals and businesses who cannot afford to pay rates during this time.
This is the first step. The DA vows to continue fighting for residents through implementing measures to Council which stand to salvage our dilapidated municipality.