Housing audit needed to address access, accountability
by Reinette Liebenberg – Democratic Alliance caucus chairperson in the Sol Plaatje Local Municipality
Date: 05 September 2017
Release: Immediate
Type: Press Statement
The Democratic Alliance in Sol Plaatje objects to the municipality’s intention to remove temporary EPWP workers from selected ward committees. It is a move which will unfairly punish workers and unjustly deprive them of their income.
The municipality’s argument is that municipal employees cannot receive two salaries. Council’s policy on ward committees, as approved in November 2016, does prohibit permanent municipal employees from serving on ward committees. But the EPWP workers are not permanently employed by the municipality and their contracts are set to expire at the end of the year. This policy does not prevent temporary employees from serving on ward committees.
Furthermore, ward committee members do not receive a salary from the municipality. The stipend payable to ward committee members simply reimburses members for the out of pocket expenses incurred as a result of doing committee work, such as cellphone or transport costs. This stipend is linked to performance and if the ward committee member isn’t performing satisfactorily, the stipend may be withheld.
It would appear as though the true problem is rather the inability of the municipal system to process the relevant transactions, as two payments cannot be made to the same individual.
It cannot be that workers are being punished and lose their jobs because the municipal system is inadequate.
Media Enquiries
Reinette Liebenberg
Democratic Alliance caucus chairperson in the Sol Plaatje Local Municipality
071 733 2640
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