Free State municipality bigshots ordered to pay back millions in illegal salary hike gains

Two Maluti-A-Phofung Municipality (MAP) officials were ordered by the Free State High Court this week to pay back monies earned from illegal salary increments, implemented while the council was under administration.

The court found that the council ignored the authority of then administrator Amos Goliath, whom they bypassed, and appointed municipal manager Futhuli Mothamaha and chief financial officer Jemina Mazinyo, and inflated their salaries while the municipality was still under administration in 2020.

Mothamaha and Mazinyo’s salaries were increased by an annual R440,000 and R563,000 respectively, within their first month of service. Their salaries totalled R1.9m and R1.5m per year respectively, deemed excessive for officials at a run-down Category 4 municipality that was under administration.

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The provincial department of cooperative governance (Cogta) approached the court to have the excessive increments declared unlawful and set aside.

In her judgment, Judge Mareena Opperman said having been placed under administration and in accordance with the Municipal Finance Act, the council’s powers were subsequently restricted.

The officials’ undermining of Goliath saw him being ejected from office and denied access to premises by private security personnel.

“The alleged second and third respondents’ malfeasance is of a continuous nature. They persist in drawing the alleged unlawful salaries.

“The contracts were expeditiously finalised. The respondents and the Council entered into contracts without the Administrator’s knowledge and approval,” reads the judgment.

The salaries and the employment contracts were illegal as they did not comply with the law, said Opperman.

“The second and third respondents must reimburse the overpayments. The illegal conduct of the respondents must be dealt with in terms of the relevant law, legislation and remedies by the applicant [Cogta].”

Appeal

When contacted for comment, Mathamaha would not talk about the damning court outcome.

“All I can tell you is that I am appealing. I met with my lawyers yesterday [Wednesday] and gave them instructions to appeal that judgement.”

Mazinyo referred all questions to her lawyers.

The duo were ordered to pay back the public funds within 90 days. The court also ordered costs of the application, including that of two counsels.

‘We’ve been vindicated’

Democratic Alliance (DA) caucus chairperson Alison Oates said the council could order new contracts for Mothamaha and Mazinyo.

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“The appointments took place on the 26 March 2020 at a time the municipality was under administration. The court clearly stated that this was an act of anarchy. We wrote to the Speaker and pointed out that the actions were illegal.

“The issue was raised on many occasions in the Legislature and at a provincial Public Accounts Committee meeting in Maluti-A-Phofung. Our efforts paid off and we are vindicated,” she said.

The province handed back the management of Maluti-A-Phofung to the council last year.

The cash-strapped municipality owes power utility Eskom R6 billion. Defaults on payments, inability to collect revenue and non-existent service delivery earned MAP a tag of being one country’s worst run councils.

Fed up residents of Qwaqwa took to the streets last year demanding water after taps ran dry for months on end.

The African National Congress (ANC) was dealt a blow when it lost power at the municipality to a coalition consisting of its former councillors, referred to as the MAP16 after the 2021 local polls.

They group was expelled from the party for condemning rampant corruption in the municipality.