Debt stalks unpaid municipal workers

Unpaid workers at four dysfunctional Free State municipalities say they are on the cusp of losing their assets as they battle to make ends meet and support their families.

At least 1,700 employees of the Mafube, Masilonyana, Tokologo and Kopanong local municipalities have not been paid, some for up to three months, and some of them are sinking deeper into debt and losing out on their medical aid benefits.

Masilonyana, which covers towns such as Brandfort, Soutpan and Theunissen, and Tokologo, whose towns include Boshof and Dealesville, were identified by auditor-general Tsakani Maluleke as being among those that could not deliver services to residents.

“At most of these municipalities, we observed leadership instability – both at political and administrative level – with poor oversight by councils, significant financial health problems, protests and strikes, a lack of consequences, and interventions that were not effective.”

Maluleke found that Masilonyana was over-reliant on consultants to prepare financial statements and, despite having a CFO, it still failed to submit its financials for the past two years.

“Their financial positions were so poor that despite not being able to pay salaries, the municipality conceded to the AG that it was uncertain whether it could continue operating.

“In other words, they were unable to demonstrate that they would be able to ensure that their communities had access to basic services in a financially sustainable manner,” Maluleke wrote of Masilonyana and Tokologo.

Mafube in Frankfort and Masilonyana have not been able to pay workers since May while June marked the third time Kopanong had not done so.

Tokologo has not paid councillors and managers for two months while other workers did not get salaries last month.

All these municipalities have been placed under administration with Masilonyana having an administrator since 2017.

Mafube was placed under administration in April.

Masilonyana mayor Dimakatso Modise declined to speak to Sowetan on Sunday, saying she was stuck in traffic.

The plight of the workers has forced the SA Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) in the province to call for urgent intervention from the provincial government as its members are now living in debt.

One of the workers, a human settlements officer at Tokologo local municipality, and who asked not to be named, described how life has become hell.

“Our pension fund and medical aid have not been paid since March. As workers we can no longer consult private doctors because we have not been making contributions.

"It is hard to live without pay. I have been living from hand to mouth. It is hard to buy groceries. Even to pour petrol into the car and go to work is so difficult.

“I’m borrowing money from other people. I borrowed R5,800 from loans sharks at the end of May. I tried going to the loan shark again this month. They demanded payment for the previous month and could not give me any money,” the worker said.

The worker lives with his family, and has three children aged 11, six and six months.

“I have had to borrow money just to take my children to the doctor because the medical aid is no longer paying due to the failure of the municipality to make contributions.

"But every month, the municipality deducts money from our salaries but is not giving it to the medical aid scheme.

“I have also lost my car insurance. My fear now is that at a later stage my car will be repossessed,” the worker said.

Provincial department of cooperative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) spokesperson Sello Dithebe blamed the financial crisis on corruption and maladministration that has been taking place for years.

“These municipalities had very poor or no controls in place, and would indeed have been adversely affected by lack of skills and things being done without adherence to National Treasury regulations and the MFMA [Municipal Finance Management Act].”

Dithebe said a team has been set up to look into the finances of the four municipalities and find a way to turn around the situation.

“In the course of us doing our work within the limits of the  law… we will be able to find a seed of solutions or resolution of that particular problem,” he said.

Samwu provincial secretary Tiisetso Mahlatsi said Kopanong and Mafube have a history of not making contributions to third parties such as pension funds.

He said in the last quarter of the 2021, Kopanong failed to pay its workers for three months.

“We have now instructed our lawyers to give us a legal opinion on how to tackle this matter.  We are also meeting with the HOD of Cogta tomorrow to address the issue,” Mahlatsi said.

He said workers were informed that the councils were not collecting enough revenue.

“But to us it not just collection of revenue, it is maladministration in local government. Audit outcomes show that these municipalities got a bad audit report.

“Our view is that if finances of the municipalities are managed well, we cannot be in this crisis. Salaries are budgeted because it is a contractual obligation.

"Money for salaries must be ring-fenced so that even if the municipality has problems, it can still pay its workers,” Mahlatsi said.

He accused the municipalities of using the equitable share from Treasury to pay service providers instead of workers' salaries.

Mokone Matakane of Reddersburg, who works in the administration at Kopanong, said it has been tough not making contributions to policies.

“Our polices are lapsing. We have not been making contributions to life insurances, funeral covers and pensions,” Matakane said.

Matakane said while the municipality previously had failed to pay medical aid contributions, they started paying last week.