Pietermaritzburg - Msunduzi municipal employees who owe the city R4,4 million will have their annual bonuses slashed by up to 50% this year.
The council unleashed their wrath this week saying that municipal employees’ annual bonuses would be cut if they owe on their municipal bills.
“Currently there is a high amount of arrears which is owed to the municipality by staff,” read a report to council.
It was revealed that 206 contract employees, who have not made payment arrangements, owe over R4,3 million to the municipality. Only 14 permanent employees are in debt to the municipality, collectively owing their employer R102 106.
The report said the Municipal Systems Act states that “a staff member may not be in arrears to the municipality for a period longer than three months. The municipality may deduct any outstanding amounts from staff member’s salary after such period.”
DA councillor Bill Lambert said the opposition party “fully agrees” with the manner in which the council has decided to retrieve the monies owed.
“We are of the view that any monies owed by employees and councillors need to be collected with extreme urgency,” said Lambert.
The Witness was unable to get comment from the IFP and Minority Front.
The strategic management committee resolved that 50% of staff bonuses would be deducted if their accounts have been in arrears for more than three months and for those who have not made an arrangement to settle their debt.
The credit control section have already written to staff who have not entered any payment agreement to come forward and to “do so quickly”
