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FOR WRITTEN REPLY
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION 2171
QUESTION:
Dr P J Groenewald (FF Plus) to ask the Minister of Co-operative Governance and
Traditional Affairs:†
(1)
(a) Which municipalities are currently under administration, (b) since which date has
each specified municipality been under administration and (c) what is the monthly
remuneration of each administrator in each such municipality;
(2)
whether he will make a statement regarding the matter?
REPLY:
1(a)
In reply to the first part of the question, there are 13 (thirteen) municipalities in four
provinces that are currently under administration or subjected to interventions in terms
of the different provisions of section 139 of the Constitution. Six of these municipalities
are in KwaZulu-Natal, namely: Indaka, Mtubatuba, Imbabazane, Abaqulusi, Umvoti and
Impofana local municipalities. The interventions in the aforesaid municipalities are in
terms of subsection (1)(b), except for Indaka and Mpofana local municipalities, which
are in terms of subsection (1)(a) and subsection (1)(c), respectively.
Mpumalanga has interventions in two municipalities, Emalahleni and Bushbuckridge
local municipalities, and both are in terms of subsection (1)(b). The North West has
interventions in three municipalities. They are Ditsobotla and Matlosana local
municipalities, which are in terms of subsection (1)(b), as well as Ngaka Modiri Molema
District Municipality, which is in terms of subsection (1)(c). The Eastern Cape has
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interventions in two municipalities, Makana and Inkwanca local municipalities. These
interventions are in terms of subsection (1)(b) and subsection (1)(c), respectively.
1(b)
Regarding the dates since which each specified municipality has been under
administration, Indaka Local Municipality has been under an intervention by means of a
directive issued in terms of subsection (1)(a) since 01 January 2014. This directive was
issued as a form of an exit strategy after a long-standing subsection (1)(b) intervention
in this municipality, which began in March 2010, was revoked in December 2013. For
the sake of convenience, the dates since which each of the other municipalities were
placed under administration appear in the table below:
Name of Municipality
Mtubatuba Local
Municipality
Abaqulusi Local
Municipality
Mpofana Local
Municipality
Bushbuckridge Local
Municipality
Ditsobotla Local
Municipality
Makana Local
Municipality
1(c)
Date of
Intervention
19 September
2012
20 March 2013
01 September
2014
18 April 2013
10 April 2013
01 October 2014
Name of Municipality
Imbabazane Local
Municipality
Umvoti Local
Municipality
Emalahleni Local
Municipality
Matlosana Local
Municipality
Ngaka Modiri Molema
District Municipality
Inkwanca Local
Municipality
Date of
Intervention
23 January 2013
17 July 2013
18 April 2013
10 April 2013
01 October 2014
02 October 2014
Every Administrator in each of the six local municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal earns an allinclusive monthly salary package of R135 188.48. The Administrator of Emalahleni
Local Municipality is paid an amount of R157 800.72 per month, which excludes
travelling expenses. In addition, there are two persons appointed to assist the
Administrator, one of which is a financial expert and another is an engineer, at a
monthly remuneration of R99 040.00 each. In Bushbuckridge Local Municipality, the
Administrator’s monthly remuneration is R150 000.00, while the Assistant Administrator
is paid an amount of R135 000.00 per month. Both salary packages exclude travelling
and accommodation costs.
Each Administrator in the three municipalities of North West earns an all-inclusive
monthly remuneration of R75 000.00, and each has an intervention team appointed to
assist them in the execution of their respective mandates. The intervention teams in
Ditsobotla and Matlosana local municipalities have two members each, while the
intervention team in Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality has five members.
Members of the intervention team in Ditsobotla Local Municipality are each paid
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R64 275.00 per month, while members of the intervention teams in Matlosana Local
Municipality and Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality are each paid R68 260. 50
per month.
The Administrator in Makana Local Municipality is paid a monthly remuneration of
R327 882.00 for the first three months of the intervention, and will be paid an amount of
R286 660.00 per month for the last three months of the intervention. In Inkwanca Local
Municipality, the Eastern Cape Department of Local Government and Traditional Affairs
took a decision of seconding a Senior Manager to act as an Administrator in this
municipality. This official is being remunerated at a General Manager level
(R988 152.00 per annum), which is equivalent to R82 346.00 per month.
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KwaZulu-Natal currently has the most number of interventions, compared with other
provinces. Besides the fact that KwaZulu-Natal also has the highest number of
municipalities, compared with other provinces, which probably makes the higher
number of interventions in the province understandable, the prevalence of interventions
in this province could also be partly attributed to its political dynamics, which have led to
some municipalities ending up (after the last local government elections) with municipal
councils in which no political party is in the majority. Some of these municipal councils
have gone through or are still going through political instability which sometimes result
in them failing to fulfil their executive obligations, thereby triggering the invocation of
interventions in terms of section 139 of the Constitution.
There was difference in the amounts paid to appoint Administrators across the various
municipalities under section 139 interventions. This could be due to the difference in the
terms of reference or the outcomes expected from each Administrator in charge of the
municipality, as determined by the nature and the scope of the intervention undertaken
by the province concerned. However, the main contributory factor to this could be that
there are currently no regulations in place governing the remuneration of
Administrators.
In order to close the above loophole, the proposed Intergovernmental Monitoring,
Support and Interventions (IMSI) Bill, which is currently before Cabinet, makes
provisions for the appointment of Administrators, with a view to regulate these
appointments. The IMSI Bill, if enacted, will give me powers to make regulations in
relation to such appointments, including remuneration, benefits and other terms and
conditions of appointment of Administrators.
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