Municipal managers' pay to be capped

Cape Town - Ceilings were being set for salaries of municipal managers, Deputy Co-operative Governance Minister of Yunus Carrim said on Tuesday.

He said his department was working with the SA Local Government Association and the Treasury to help municipalities use their money "productively and effectively".

"We are setting ceilings for paid remuneration and conditions of municipal managers," Carrim told reporters.

It was, however, "unconstitutional" for national government to prescribe "an exact amount" of remuneration for a municipal manager.

"What we are seeking is to provide guidelines which will say for example that depending on the number of residents in the municipality, this is the budget you have and these are the guidelines we give you. You can then provide a ceiling and monitor."

Carrim said there had been consensus with unions, among others, on municipal remuneration regulations.

His department was also seeking to set minimum qualifications for senior managers, such as experience, expertise and technical qualifications.

According to the Democratic Alliance, 56 municipal managers were paid performance bonuses in the last financial year despite presiding over poor municipal performance.

"In total, R249m (including performance bonuses) was paid to municipal managers last year," the DA said in an analysis based on figures released by the Treasury.

It found that 56 municipalities awarded their municipal managers performance bonuses, even though they received negative audit outcomes for poor financial management.

In all but three of these municipalities the Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) were awarded performance bonuses as well.

Of the 283 municipalities in the country, a majority 147 of them received negative audit outcomes. The other 136 received positive audit outcomes.

Of the 147 municipalities with negative outcomes, 56 paid performance bonuses averaging R98,000 for each municipal manager.

These non-performing municipal managers earned on average a total income of R1m each. The CFOs of these failing municipalities were paid on average R80 000 in performance bonuses as well, the party said.