Mafube municipal staff face salary non-payment for next three months

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Municipal Manager of the troubled Mafube Local Municipality in the Free State, Mothusi Lepheana, says they are hoping for a speedy resolution to the municipality’s financial woes.

Last week, the municipality issued a memo to its employees stating that they might not receive their salaries for December, January and February.

The memo states that the situation was brought about by one of its creditors, the Municipal Worker’s Retirement Fund, which approached the high court to get an order to attach the municipality’s accounts.

Lepheana elaborates.

“It was the plan of the municipality to pay that creditor in terms of the financial recovery plan that has just been adopted. Now, the discussions are still underway between the municipality and the creditor. We hope to resolve the matter and we are going to be able to pay the salaries of employees.”

Meanwhile, the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union shop steward, Tshepo Tsotetsi, blames the municipality’s crisis on an absence of proper management.

Tsotetsi says non-payment and late payment of salaries has been an ongoing issue in the municipality for at least seven years.

“They will forever appoint incompetent middle managers to act on positions of directors while there are people who can act on those positions, and we are currently as a municipality without directors. So, can the national and provincial Treasury and COGTA intervene in the municipality as a matter of urgency.”

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