As happens each year, the Cogta minister recently published a gazette authorising municipalities to increase councillors’ remuneration, this year by up to 6.4 percent, DA MP and local constituency head Dennis Ryder said in a statement on Sunday.

At a virtual meeting of the Midvaal Council held on June 18, mayor Bongani Baloyi led a proposal by his mayoral committee that councillors should strongly consider the hardship being experienced by residents of the municipality. As such, the councillors were urged not to accept the increase and rather choose to re-allocate the amount budgeted for councillor increases to the Sebenza Mbokodo Fund.

"The fund was an idea born at the 2019 state of the Midvaal Municipality address and set up as a Midvaal initiative to provide start-up capital to deserving female-owned small-scale businesses," he said.

The motion was carried with the full support of all DA councillors and was supported by the Freedom Front Plus councillor. The councillors of the African National Congress and Economic Freedom Fighters opposed the motion, but were outvoted. As a decision of council, they would also not be receiving increases.

"It is commendable that these councillors, who already sacrifice so much in the service of their communities, have taken cognisance of the pressures on their communities and given up on their personal salary increase," Ryder said.

The DA was pleased with its representatives in Midvaal and their selfless decision, which would benefit their communities and local economies. The Vaal region of the DA called on all municipalities to be prepared to make decisions centred on their residents, he said.

African News Agency (ANA)