As specialist staff continue to leave Makana Municipality because of uncompetitive salaries, it was announced this week that Council Speaker Rachel Madinda is to receive an increase of just over R200 000 to her annual pay.
As specialist staff continue to leave Makana Municipality because of uncompetitive salaries, it was announced this week that Council Speaker Rachel Madinda is to receive an increase of just over R200 000 to her annual pay.
Council has met twice this year. At an ordinary council meeting on Tuesday 13 August Municipal Manager Pravine Naidoo announced the latest spate of resignations in the municipality.
People who have quit include the senior city plumber and the deputy director of engineering and infrastructural services, Mziwamadoda Qalaba. Qalaba was appointed in April. The municipal manager blamed the resignations on low salaries, pointing out that Qalaba had been offered a better salary elsewhere.
Naidoo said there was a direct correlation between service delivery and skills, and that Council should be head hunting in line with the national norm for recruiting scarce skills. “We need to innovate and incentivise people to come to Grahamstown. The salaries offered by the municipality are not attracting skills,” said Naidoo. “Unfortunately Grahamstown is not everyone’s cup of tea because it often involves relocation and leaving the family behind.”
A bemused Council was told that the municipality had received nine applications for the position of Municipal Electrical Engineer, some of which were from erstwhile security guards.
The skills and salaries debate came at a time when large swathes of Grahamstown, including much of Rhodes University, had been without water for almost two weeks after the pump and motor at Howieson's Poort dam had broken down.
Grahamstown also has a problem with sewage leaks and maintenance of existing infrastructure, said councillor Nomhle Gaga, chairperson of the Mayor’s Committee Engineering and Infrastructure Department. At the same meeting it was announced that following provincial directives, the Council will now get a full-time Speaker.
Rachel Madinda Isaac, serving in the position on a part-time basis, was appointed to the post, which goes hand in hand with a salary of R43 036 a month (R516 439 a year).
The Speaker is responsible for chairing all Council meetings. The municipality has missed three scheduled ordinary council meetings this year.
The current budget for the Speaker is R309 345. Acting Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Marius Crouse said provision for the Speaker’s salary increase was made in the budgeting process under the previous CFO.
The Speaker will also get a manager, who’ll earn between R286 652 and R372 093 a year plus Council benefits. The minimum qualification needed for this post are a national diploma and a minimum of two years' experience in administration.
Responsibilities include managing the Speaker’s correspondence and organising her functions and personnel.
The article, 'Pay rise for City bosses' in Grocott's Mail of 14 February 2014 reported that the Chief Whip will receive a salary package of R227 816.
This was the figure recommended by Salga in its proposed councillors' allowances for 2013/14. It is the same as the figure recommended for the 20 other part-time councillors.
The current budgeted allowance for the Chief Whip is R224 770. The total current budgeted allowance for the other part-time councillors is R224 655 on average.
The Chief Whip's current allowance is R206 059, the same as that of the other part-time councillors.
