Tshwane mayor Nasiphi Moya has made an arrangement to pay back over R270 000 in benchmarking-related payments that had been received by senior officials in July 2019.
This confirmation comes after the DA in Tshwane insisted that she should pay back the money if she was one of the officials who overpaid.
However, Moya slammed DA Tshwane caucus leader Cilliers Brink for not taking corrective action against the overpayment matter, even during his 18-month tenure as mayor.
She also stated in the August 27 letter that the officials who received the payments have no connection to any wrongdoing.
Moya had received R268 957.51 during her tenure as chief of staff in the office of the executive mayor as a benchmarking-related salary adjustment that applied to 78 senior officials.
Monthly repayment authorised
“Notwithstanding that no liability has been established against me, and that I remain confident in the integrity of my conduct, I have voluntarily authorised a monthly repayment to the City of Tshwane.
“I have taken this step in recognition that the office I hold demands a standard of leadership that is beyond reproach. We remain committed to concluding the matter and will communicate any further developments,” said Moya in the letter.
She said the group’s head of human capital management authorised the payments while awaiting the outcome of a citywide benchmarking exercise that was finalised in July 2020; she resigned on May 31, 2020.
“We have since confirmed that in February 2021, former executive mayor, councillor Randall Williams issued a formal instruction which, inter alia, directed that cases involving increases paid to officials no longer in the city’s employ be reported to the mayoral committee and dealt with in terms of Section 32 of the Municipal Finance Management Act,” said Moya.
She asserted that Brink’s tenure did not adhere to the directives, nor did he deliver any report to the mayoral committee.
Moya stated that she was aware that the debt was unenforceable and that former employees were not involved in repayment plans.
When she received an SMS from the city mentioning a purported debt, she claimed to be ignorant of it. She exchanged information with Brink and promptly contacted the City Administration for clarification.
Travel allowances
In the letter, Moya requested that Brink share information he may find helpful with the city manager, considering that he had served 18 months as mayor.
The Tshwane DA spokesperson for finance, Jacqui Uys, said this is the second time that Moya has had to pay the city back after paying R10,000 in travel allowance for a Saudi Arabia trip she never attended.
She also emphasised that they have been asking Moya about the overpayment since January 2025.
“Most of the officials who had received these undue payments have already paid back the money or made payment arrangements with the city.
“It is unfortunate that Mayor Moya had to be prompted publicly to do what is right, instead of setting an example on her own accord,” said Uys.
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