Pay Increases for Councillors and Officials Draws Fire
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No 1502 Vol 35 | Tel: 032-9460276 | www.northcoastcourier.co.za | Friday, May 29, 2020 40,000 copies free every week from Umdloti to Mandeni Armed Sheffi eld Mandeni Curro kids poachers shacks Maskandi get walking caught at demolished songbird Tugela Page 2 Page 5 Page 6 Page 11 Cigarettes banned butt . smoking continues Sboniso Dlamini get a loose cigarette for R5 (normally R2 or R2,50), a single packet of 20 cigarettes While the sale of cigarettes continues to be for R65 (normally R45) and carton of 10 banned during lockdown level three, the packets from R650 to as much as R1400 truth is those who smoke are still smoking. (normally between R400 and R500). Despite no evidence that smoking makes • In Ballito, when lockdown started you you less able to cope with Covid-19, could buy an illegal “no name brand” carton South Africa is one of only three countries of 10 packets for R250, but as lockdown worldwide to have banned cigarettes during progressed the price rose to the current R550 the pandemic (alongwith Botswana and or more. India). To date neither government nor the In KwaDukuza CBD it took less than World Health Organisation (WHO) have 10 minutes to fi nd a cigarette ‘dealer’. A released evidence on how smoking has store owner in King Shaka Street was able impacted the virus. to point us in the direction of a dark alley On the North Coast, smokers might not opposite his shop. be puffi ng their favourite brand of cigarettes “Sure brother, you need the stuff ?” said anymore (some are even rolling rooibos) the dealer. He off ered us a carton of 10 but getting a pack of cigarette is not that packets for R650. diffi cult, if you are willing to cough up the Next we followed a lead to Dawnside cash. but police had got there fi rst and shut her Our reporters scouted the illegal vendors down. A restaurant owner admitted she had in Ballito, Tongaat and KwaDukuza town been selling cigarettes under the counter but to fi nd out what was available and for how believed someone had reported her to the much. police. A few of the brands available include, D’s, Pacifi c, Carvela, CK, Voyager and Craven A. • In KwaDukuza and Tongaat you can Continued on Page 2 A carton of 10 packets of illegal cigarettes could put you back between R550 and R1400. Pay increases for councillors and offi cials draws fi re Penny Fourie Spearheading the petition, Ballito prior annual reports of KDM which The infl ation-beating salary increases resident Riaan Verster said the proposed refl ect massive irregular expenditure are in a budget that proposes tariff Proposed rates and salary increases for tariff increases were not aff ordable and and adverse audit opinions that the increase of rates by six percent, water by KwaDukuza municipality (KDM) staff unfair. municipality is being mismanaged and 9.9 percent and sewerage and refuse by and councillors have been met with heavy “The increases do not take into the residents and ratepayers alike are fed four percent. Domestic electricity tariff s criticism by ratepayers as households account the hardships faced by the up.” are expected to increase by 6.9 percent struggle to survive in the face of the ratepayers over this current pandemic The municipal draft budget proposes a as per the National Energy Regulator Covid-19 economic collapse. crisis who get little to no service delivery 5.2 percent salary increase, backdated to of South Africa (NERSA) approval Ratepayers are fi ghting back against in return for ever increasing rates and July last year. This is slightly higher than of Eskom’s allowable revenue from the planned tariff increases with an fees. Streetlights are still in a state of the consumer price index of 4.5 percent. standard tariff customers. online petition started last Thursday that disrepair and little has been done to This will see councillors’ remuneration The total wage bill for municipal staff has garnered more than 3800 signatures maintain or improve existing municipal costs jumping from R24 million to R25.3 in the draft budget is R473 170 million. and rising. infrastructure. It is clear from the million in the next fi nancial year. Continued on Page 2 2 The North Coast Courier, May 29, 2020 NEWS ‘Increases are a slap in the face for citizens’ - OUTA Continued from Page 1 unions for people employed in our towns The basic annual package for the and cities,” he said. mayor will be R893 850 while the Results from a recent business impact deputy mayor and speaker will receive survey of 707 businesses conducted by R715 078. Stats SA indicated that 36.8 percent Exco members and the chief whip will reported that their workforce was get R670 387. Part-time councillors will expected to decrease. Almost 10 percent receive R282 870 and a district appointed of respondents reported that 81-100 councillor will get R1 103.23 per day. percent of their workforce had been Councillors will also receive phone made redundant while four in ten and data allowances of R3 400 and R300 businesses felt they could not continue per month respectively, plus expense to operate. A whopping 42.2 percent said accounts. The wage bill, which absorbs they were not confi dent they had the more than 35 percent of municipal fi nancial resources to continue operating spending, has been a major driver of through lockdown. Three of the poachers caught by a combined security operation on Thursday morning. rising costs. President of the iLembe Chamber of In addition, the budget also provides Commerce and attorney Andrew Horton for performance bonuses for senior said that while the minister of CoGTA managers. A R146 299 performance makes the determination on the salary bonus for the municipal manager will increases, individual municipalities Four armed determine whether to introduce the take his total remuneration package to R1 994 358 million. increases into their budget or not. This despite KDM under-spending “I think there should be a better on its capital budget in the 2019/20 process in place when it comes to salary poachers nabbed fi nancial year which had a direct impact increases and performance bonuses. on various capital projects and service They should be linked to the fi nancial delivery. The municipality also recorded health of a municipality and whether about R60 million in irregular spending. it has received a clean audit or not. Key budget assumptions made in the “However, during these challenging at Tugela South draft document are that the country is times government should carefully not expected to go lower than level three consider whether to go ahead with these Swift action by security guards, police and lockdown this year and there is a strong implementations, given the poor and farmers nabbed an organised poaching gang possibility that level fi ve lockdown could working class communities will be the in the Darnall area last Thursday. be re-instated in September throughout biggest victims.” The carcasses of bushbuck and the Ilembe district if the infection rate While the country was already in porcupines, together with a shotgun, a peaks then. a recession before the coronavirus pistol and ammunition, were found in the Dolphin Coast Ratepayer and pandemic, it has since been downgraded possession of three men and a fourth driving Residents Association (Docrra) chairman by all credit ratings agencies. a Toyota Fortuner, on a farm on the south Deon Viljoen said they believed any Ilembe Chamber CEO Cobus Oelofse bank of the Tugela River in the early hours salary increases for KDM should mirror said: “The targeted revenue growth and of Thursday morning. what President Cyril Ramaphosa had expenses of any municipality cannot be Francois Snyman of Z2 Security said that requested from government offi cials and tone-deaf to this dire reality - which will following a tip-off by a farmer, the Fortuner employees. result in a balancing act considering the had been followed by his security offi cers “Either a maximum of 1.5 percent or obligation to ensure fi scal well-being, and spotted dropping off three armed men at no increase at all for the next fi nancial maintaining of service levels and the Tugela Estates at about 2am. year. Docrra also trusts that most KDM needed investment in infrastructure. employees have voluntarily contributed “Like any other business, revenue and When the Fortuner returned later to fetch The bushbuck and porcupines found in the the men, the hunters were met by a party four percent of their salary to the expense increases, especially increases back of the Fortuner owned by a Groutville that outstrip the forecasted levels of consisting of Z2 Security offi cers, Saps from resident. Solidarity Fund, as requested by the Newark police station and KwaDukuza president.” infl ation, will attract attention. community safety offi cers. Police confi rmed that four men between In a letter sent to the minister “The Chamber’s submission on the “We cornered them and found four the ages of 24 and 49 had been arrested of Cooperative Governance and budget will also refl ect the current bushbuck and two porcupines in the back of and charged with poaching and trespassing. Traditional Aff airs (CoGTA), Dr somber sentiment of our business the Fortuner,” said Snyman. They are all residents of Thembeni in Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, and copied community.” “We also found a shotgun and pistol Groutville and were released on R1500 to the President as well as all provincial KwaDukuza municipality which belonged to the owner of the vehicle. bail each.