She has recently revealed the municipality owes the Pension Fund R4 million towards outstanding employees’ pension contributions.

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The Municipal Manager, Floyd Leeuw, is expected to do the following as remedial action:

1.  Within 60 working days, take appropriate steps to conduct a full audit of its payroll system with effect from May 2018 to date, to verify that all contributions deducted from its employees after suspension of the stop order system, were paid over to the beneficiaries for which such contributions were intended, and to identify any other employees whose beneficiaries were not paid accordingly.

2. Within 90 working days, engage the National and Provincial Treasuries to assist in restoring any benefits that may have been suspended as a direct result the maladministration found by the Public Protector on the part of the Municipality.

3. Take appropriate steps in respect of disciplinary action against the officials of the Municipality, after a determination has been made that they contributed to the expenditure mismanagement of the Municipality that resulted in the failure to make payments to the Pension Fund and other entities.

4. Apologise in writing to Jafta Bothman and other affected employees of the Municipality for the failure to pay the amounts deducted from their salaries to the Pension Fund and other beneficiaries and informing them of the steps that are being taken to remedy the situation.

5. Establish an internal complaints mechanism to ensure that complaints against process failures and internal control deficiencies of the Municipality are expeditiously resolved.

6. Ensure that the Internal Audit Unit, on an annual basis, review the adequacy and effectiveness of the municipality’s system of internal control to manage risks.

The speaker of the municipality, Koos Esau, is expected to take the appropriate steps to ensure that the municipal manager regularly reports to the Council on all expenditure incurred by the municipality on staff benefits, as contemplated by section 66 of the MFMA.

Mkhwebane also stated that Leeuw must submit an action plan within 30 working days from 28 February 2022 on the implementation of the remedial actions. “The submission of the implementation plan and the implementation of the remedial action shall, in the absence of a court order, be complied with within the period prescribed in this report to avoid being in contempt of the Public Protector,” the report concludes.

OFM News