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Councillors’ gratuity payments being made

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The ex-councillor (retired) that I spoke to this past weekend will be very happy to hear that the process of paying councillors’ once-off gratuity payments has begun.

The gratuity is applicable to councillors who did not return to their positions after the 3 August Local Government Elections.

The Department of Cooperative Governance (DCoG) on Wednesday said it has received 4 910 applications from former councillors, who are eligible to receive a once-off gratuity payment.

The department has urged all those who have not yet submitted their applications to do so urgently. It thanked those applicants who submitted their documents on time.

The payments are based on the pensionable salary of each councillor.

“It is important to note that those eligible would be councillors that served a minimum of 24 consecutive months and whose term came to an end from 1 April 2016 onwards,” said DCoG.

It said the payment process is complex and very slow, and is subject to verification by the department.

The payment process includes:

  • The calculation of the gross gratuity payment, based on the formula that was recommended by the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers;
  • Obtaining individual tax directives from the South African Revenue Service;
  • Deduction of the individual tax obligation for a recipient from the gross gratuity payment; and
  • Payment of the net gratuity into the nominated bank account of the former councillor.

The department anticipates that the payment process will be finalised during the first quarter of 2017.

In the event where an eligible councillor has passed on, such gratuity must be paid to the beneficiaries or estate of such a councillor.

“Every effort is being made to process and finalise the payments as soon as possible. All applicants are therefore requested to be patient and allow the department sufficient time to follow due process so as not to compromise compliance requirements in this regard,” said the department. – SAnews.gov.za

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Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.