DA against proposed increases for City Manager and Head of Departments in Ekurhuleni

by Cllr Annette Verster — DA Member of the Corporate and Shared Oversight in Ekurhuleni

Date: 05 May 2021

Release: Immediate

Type: Media Statement

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Ekurhuleni has lambasted the governing ANC and its coalition partners* for the proposed increase for the City Manager and the Heads of Department (HODs).

At a time when residents and communities across the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) are struggling to make ends meet, the ANC and its coalition partners approved an increase of 4.6% for the top Ekurhuleni officials.

Service delivery is at an all-time low and residents contact their friendly DA councillors regularly asking for assistance due to the poor services by the City.

These top officials are heads of departments and responsible for ensuring performance of the Metro. However, power outages are at an all-time high, grass cutting is non-existent and potholes are not repaired timeously.

We question where’s the accountability and performance management?

As the DA, we believe these increases are unjustifiable during a time when communities across Ekurhuleni are struggling. We stand with the communities and believe this money can be better utilised to ensure better services to the residents.

In a DA-run City, like the City of Cape Town, we would implement a salary increase freeze for all officials, as we believe the public sector cannot be immune to the effects of COVID-19. We would petition the Local Government Bargaining Council to not award any salary increases for staff and councillors.

*Coalition Partners: African Independent Congress (AIC), Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), Patriotic Alliance (PA) and Independent Ratepayers Association of South Africa (IRASA)

Cllr Annette Verster

DA Member of Corporate and Shared Oversight in Ekurhuleni