Opposition parties object to R71m bonus budget for eThekwini municipality

Opposition parties in eThekwini Municipality have rejected the proposed R71 million budget to pay performance bonuses to municipal staff.

They said giving out performance bonuses would be a slap in the face to eThekwini ratepayers.

The motion was raised by municipal management during the full executive council meeting on Tuesday and was supported by the ANC and EFF, and rejected by other parties.

DA eThekwini caucus leader councillor, Thabani Mthethwa, said no eThekwini resident was satisfied with the eThekwini’s performance.

How would you explain awarding performance incentives to grade 3-9 staff that do not perform? The DA therefore voted against the possible ANC-EFF’s first joint project in awarding performance bonuses to staff, while there is no money to fix the sewage crisis or dilapidated pools.

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He added that prioritising employee capacity-building and equipping staff with the tools they needed to execute at the level the city required should take precedence over lavishly spending money on “mediocre” performance.

“The city’s deteriorating infrastructure, broken streetlights, clogged drainage systems, a lack of upkeep, dilapidated roads, sewage pouring into houses and sea, and a farce of a call centre have all left a bad taste in people’s mouths” he said.

Other political parties weigh in

Mdu Nkosi, IFP spokesperson in eThekwini, said as things stood, it was clear that the residents in eThekwini were not happy with service delivery in the metro and they saw no need for bonuses.

As councillors we are here to serve the community. In eThekwini there is no service delivery. We shouldn’t be discussing bonuses

ActionSA chairperson in eThekwini, Zwakele Mncwango, said they also rejected the motion on the basis that the municipality had failed dismally to provide for residents and ratepayers, adding that there was a visible lack of service delivery in the metro.

When the eThekwini Municipality spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela was contacted for comment he referred The Witness to the ANC chief whip in the eThekwini council, a position that is currently vacant since the resignation of former chief whip, councillor Thembubuhle Ntuli with immediate effect at the last council meeting.