Mangaung municipality fails to pay salaries

All the members of the mayoral committee (MMCs) should be held accountable for the metro’s problems, said EFF councillor Paulnita Marais.

View of part of Bloemfontein. Picture: Facebook

Questions are mounting as to whether employees of the cash-strapped Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality will receive their salaries on Wednesday.

This after several sources, including two Mangaung councillors, confirmed on record they did not receive their salaries as expected on Tuesday. EFF Councillors, Baba Sebolao and Paulnita Marais shared their frustrations at the Free State municipality’s financial woes.

“It is sad in Mangaung. We’ve been saying the same thing every year. In July 2017, when we passed a motion of no-confidence against Mayor Olly Mlamleli, the ANC Councillors stood up for Mme Olly, they protected her. We knew then we are heading for a disaster. So yes it is true, we did not get our salaries,” says Sebolao.

Marais, on the other hand, feels Mlamleli is just the overseer, she is of the view that all the Members of the Mayoral Committee (MMCs) should be held accountable for the metro’s problems. “If we had done what the Auditor-General had asked from us, three/four years ago, we wouldn’t be in this mess, because no one is being held accountable,” says Marais angrily.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Free State Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Zolile Lobe, says employees can expect to receive their monies on Wednesday.

Lobe also commented on rumours that Mangaung Metro had allegedly requested a R30 million bail-out from the provincial government. He says the money isn’t a bailout but is rather the money owed to the metro by the provincial Public Works department for services rendered.

An explanation: Mangaung Metro which includes the Free State capital, Bloemfontein is home to several provincial government departments. The maintenance and servicing of these provincial government buildings fall within the ambit of the Public Works Department’s responsibilities. It is this department that must pay the metro for services rendered.

Rating agency Moody’s on Tuesday again downgraded the metro’s long-term global scale issuer rating further down the ladder, a mere five months after downgrading the municipality over liquidity concerns.