KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) administrators continue to cost taxpayers almost R2million each month despite failing to turn around the province’s severely dysfunctional municipalities.
The figure – which includes a monthly bill of R720 000 for their security detail – forms part of a written parliamentary reply (view here) by CoGTA MEC, Bongiwe Sithole-Moloi, to questions posed by the DA.
According to the reply, the administrators are earning a combined total of R982 234.65 within the eight KZN municipalities currently under Section 139 provincial administration – Umzinyathi, uThukela, uMkhanyakude, Inkosi Langalibalele, Msunduzi, Mpofana, Inkosi Mtubatuba and Abaqulusi.
That these administrators continue to be paid so much money – while failing to restore proper basic services – is yet another a slap in the face to the down-trodden communities they are supposed to be serving.
In any other work environment, ongoing under-performance would lead to dismissal. Yet, it appears that KZN’s Taliban faction ANC government is satisfied with mediocrity as it continues to reward them for a job that is not well done.
To add insult to injury, qualifications also do not seem to be a priority. In one stance, the uMzinyathi administrator is currently earning a monthly salary of R127 000 despite having a security background and not having any form of municipal finance and administration qualifications or experience.
At best this is a shocking oversight. At worst, it is yet another political appointment, one which the DA expects MEC Sithole-Moloi to account for.
The destruction of municipalities is an ANC trend that has played out across our province for many years. This is the devastating legacy it will leave behind.
When KZN’s people go to the polls on 29 May, they will have an opportunity to rescue and rebuild our province under a new government. One that does not deploy political cadres and which will install competent, experienced individuals with clear targets and consequences for failure to achieve them.