Dying diggers of Namaqualand need saving
by Andrew Louw – DA Northern Cape Provincial Leader & Spokesperson of COGHSTA
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Date: 18 June 2018
Release: Immediate
The DA has written to the Executive Mayor of Frances Baard Municipality, Patrick Marekwa, calling on him to urgently review the salary scale of the acting Municipal Manager, Ziphorah Bogatsu.
It has come to light that the former Mayor, Virginia Buyiswa Ximba, who was recently removed from her position, has been keeping Council in the dark about serious discrepancies regarding Bogatsu’s salary.
The DA is in possession of a copy of a letter dated 20 April 2018, sent from COGHSTA MEC, Bentley Vass, to Ximba, advising her to have council reconsider its decision to appoint Bogatsu on the maximum remuneration package of R1,279,762 per annum. This is because Bogatsu only meets competency requirements that justify her receiving the minimum salary level.
The DA is aggrieved that Ximba, through the withholding of this critical information, previously allowed Council to take ill-informed resolutions with regards to Bogatsu’s appointment.
DA PR councillor, Michael Kaars, will submit an urgent request to Marekwa for an urgent briefing session with Council on this matter. All the information, including the letter from Vass, must be placed on the table.
There appear to be no grounds for remunerating Bogatsu outside the ambit of the relevant pay scale, which is contrary to the upper limits of remuneration payable to Municipal Managers.
The DA will closely monitor the situation to ensure that corrective action is taken.
It cannot be that laws and regulations are sidelined to benefit connected individuals at the expense of delivering on the mandate of district municipalities.
Frances Baard District Municipality is meant to set a good example for the local municipalities such as Dikgatlong, Magareng and Phokwane, who fall under it, yet it doesn’t. These municipalities are failing in a bid to deliver adequate services and to meet their Eskom payments, and frequently rely on bailouts from Frances Baard to keep the lights on.
The ANC’s actions once again prove that only change under a DA-led government will ensure that government is managed in accordance with the law, and not in accordance with who you know.
Media Enquiries
Andrew Louw
DA Northern Cape Provincial Leader & Spokesperson of COGHSTA
082 383 6914
Shelley De Witt
Researcher
082 847 1387
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