Workers of the Masilonyana Local Municipality in the Free State are yet again to receive their salaries after the municipality failed to pay their salaries for October.

The Theunissen-based municipality has sent a communique to the staff informing them about the late payments. Last month the workers of this cash-strapped municipality yet again failed to work on time and only did so later in the month and at least last week Friday (20/10).

Councillors were the last group to be paid their salaries by the municipality. In this letter, the Municipal Manager states that the municipality is faced with cash challenges, and workers' salaries will be paid on 5 October, whilst overtime and other allowances are set to be paid on 15 November. The municipality has since issued an apology to its workers.

OFM News previously reported this municipality once paid workers with food parcels after it failed to pay salaries. Workers received food vouchers worth R1,000, which could be used at one of the local food retail stores. The municipality has also struggled to make payments of salaries to workers on several occasions in the past few years.

On Wednesday (25/10) a group of disgruntled Matjhabeng municipal workers staged a protest inside the premises of the municipality following the non-payment of salaries. 

The DA councillor in the municipality, Marieta Visser, raised concerns about the persistent salary payment delays.  Visser said this affects municipal employees and causes significant hardship to families across the community.

“We were recently notified that employees' salaries will be payable on or before 5 October 2023, with overtime and allowances scheduled for payment on 15 October. However, the core issue at hand goes beyond these delays; it is a symptom of a much larger problem that demands urgent attention. 

The municipality’s financial crisis has been exacerbated by several factors, notably an unmanageable Eskom debt standing at R150,736,875 and counting. This burden, coupled with the municipalities flawed billing system and outdated General Valuation Roll from 2015, has resulted in an unsustainable deficit within the budget. The failure to establish a credible, audited Indigent Register has hindered the ability to claim the Equitable Share designated for providing essential services to those unable to pay, Visser said.

OFM News previously reported that Masilonyana Municipality was among Free State municipalities that were flagged after their continued wasteful spending of taxpayers' money with irregular expenditure increasing by almost R2 billion.

In 2022 Auditor General Tsakani Maluleke, said the irregular expenditure increased from R7,63 billion to R9,18 billion. Maluleke said the audit outcomes of the province regressed over the term of the previous administration. She said this is because the municipal Public Accounts Committees did not perform timeous investigations.

Maluleke on Wednesday told Members of Parliament that three cash-strapped municipalities, including the Qwaqwa-based Maluti-A-Phofung, the Theunissen-based Masilonyana, and the Boshof-based Tokologo Local Municipalities failed to trace the trail of money spent by the municipalities.

OFM News/Lucky Nkuyane