A cash-strapped Free State municipality has once again infuriated its workers by failing to pay salaries on time.
The Mafube local municipality, located in the Fezile Dabi district, informed staff in a memorandum that the wages would be negatively impacted after the coffers dried up.
In the internal document, acting municipal manager Jamela Selapyane announced that the municipality’s funds are depleting and warned of a delay in October salaries.
Employees were disappointed when they did not receive their pay on Friday as they had anticipated.
“Management acknowledges the inconvenience this situation may cause and assures employees that every effort is being made to resolve the financial issues and to ensure that salaries are paid as soon as possible.
“An update will be communicated once the payment date has been confirmed. We sincerely regret the inconvenience and uncertainty this may cause and appreciate your patience and understanding during this difficult period,” said Selapyane in the memorandum.
Employees are upset and agitated over the memo because many rely on their monthly income to pay for necessities like groceries, rent, and school fees.
Workers have been dealing with the municipality’s ongoing financial issues, which do not seem to be getting better.
Municipality’s financial woes
For more than ten years, the Mafube municipality has been dealing with severe financial difficulties and delayed salary payments.
Its issues have hurt service delivery, staff livelihoods, and the administration’s credibility.
Numerous times, the municipality has fallen short of its financial commitments, including payments to different service providers and, more gravely, to employee pension funds.
These failures have resulted in legal challenges.
Despite deducting the pension contributions from their salaries, the municipality failed to pay some employees, preventing them from retiring.
In May, the Johannesburg High Court set aside a R98-million warrant of execution against the municipality related to these unpaid pension contributions.
The South African Local Authorities Pension Fund had taken action after years of non-payment, which the pension funds adjudicator found to be a breach of Section 13A of the Pension Funds Act.
Despite the court reprieve, Mafube’s financial woes continue to deepen.
