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BL Premium reports that on Tuesday Gauteng’s SA Local Government Association (Salga) outgoing chair Aletta Mashigo told newly elected councillors just what she thought of their crucial roles as public servants.
In her address during the Salga Gauteng provincial elective congress in Muldersdrift, which was attended by executive mayors, CFOs, heads of departments and municipal managers from the province’s 11 municipalities, Mashigo started by welcoming all the councillors who “have been successfully elected”. She went on to say: “I hope there are no kids here and that I’m not going to be charged. [Now] to the sh*t job, to be a councillor is one sh*t job. But don’t say I said that, my mouth doesn’t insult. But being a councillor is a sh*t job. So I want to say to you welcome to this environment that is so difficult for everyone.” What Mashigo did not tell her audience is that councillors are among the highest paid public servants in the country. In SA’s biggest metros, executive mayors can earn up to R1.4m a year, with their deputies taking home about R1.1m. Members of the mayoral committee, whip or chair of a sub council, or head of a portfolio committee can earn up to R1m a year, including benefits. The packages include perks such as travel allowances, among others. Mashigo’s remarks come amid increasing service delivery challenges — that the newly elected councillors have to address — pertaining to job creation initiatives, delivery of housing, clinics, schools and roads. SA’s municipalities have been dogged by systemic corruption, looting, maladministration, political instability and mismanagement, which has affected service delivery.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
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