While the ruling party should probably be responding to Mr Waner, given that the decisions taken were initiated and driven by them, I am happy to convey what I know as the finance spokesman for the official opposition.
Your correspondent (Benoni City Times letter to the Editor February 29) has used the annual amounts listed in the Medium Term Revenue and Expenditure Framework (MTREF), otherwise known as “the budget”, to construct his claim that councillors have received a “whopping 56 per cent increase over four years”.
The actual salary increases of councillors have been about a modest five percent per year on average, which is close to the CPI rate over the period.
Expressed differently, in real terms councillors have received no increase over the period.
The method of trying to deduce salary increases from budget allowances leads to a distorted interpretation of the true picture.
Mr Waner must remember that the Municipal Demarcation Board increased the number of wards in Ekurhuleni from 88 to 101 in May, 2011, to accommodate the huge influx of people into Ekurhuleni since 2006.
This alone increased the number of councillors who represent the residents from 175 to 201.
The Ekurhuleni Metro changed its governance system to match other metros and introduced the separation of powers model.
This led to 12 councillors from the majority party, namely the ANC, being appointed as Oversight Committee chairpersons, thus becoming full-time councillors as opposed to part-time.
Thirdly, National Parliament – also led by the ANC – decreed that ward committee members should receive an increased stipend for attending ward committee meetings.
All these changes were estimated and provided for in the annual budgets or MTREF figures.
Consequently, it is not possible to use budget provisions to infer the salary increases awarded to councillors.
Mr Waner’s estimate that part-time councillors earn R40 535 per month is, therefore, incorrect. The amount is, in fact, R34 749 per month cost-to-company, with a much lower take-home amount.
From the DA perspective, I should point out that metro councillors represent wards of up to 15 000 voters.
In my experience most councillors are kept as busy as any full time employee.
