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OR Tambo District Municipality has R1 million political advisor

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The OR Tambo District Municipality Mayor has an appointed political advisor at a salary package of R1 158 474 in an ungraded position.

According to the reply to a written parliamentary question by me to the MEC for Local Government, Mlibo Qoboshiyane, this whopping amount is R635 343.00 more than the remuneration of the Mayor.

The political advisor in the Nelson Mandela Metro enjoys a salary package of approximately R800 000 per annum.

How is it possible that a Metro political advisor earns less than the same incumbent in a smaller, less pressured and demanding District Municipality?

There is a concern that other municipalities in the province are embarking on employing unnecessary so called “political advisors” at inflated salary packages.

I have written to MEC Qoboshiyane, asking how many municipalities have appointed “political advisors” to their staff establishments.

At a future meeting of the Legislature Portfolio Committee on Local Government I will be asking for the salary packages of political advisors and on what basis each salary is awarded.

I will be asking that such positions be urgently graded on the TASK Evaluation System or similar grading system so that there is fair parity in the remuneration of these political advisors.

I have been informed that some of the required duties of such advisors overlap with the duties of a Municipal Manager.

The Audit report of the 2010/2011 financial year gives this municipality an Adverse audit finding.

Furthermore, among other audit findings were that the municipality had not implemented an Indigent Policy nor had Senior Section 56 Managers and the Municipal Manager signed Performance Agreements as required in terms of Section 57 of the Structures Act.

In addition, the audit findings revealed large scale payment contraventions in Supply Chain Management and massive fruitless and wasteful expenditure.

It is imperative that these “advisor appointments” add value to the overall performance of a municipality and are not merely “nice to haves” as positions within such organisations.

Dacre Haddon

Editor’s Notes: Ssssh don’t tell the Nelson Mandela Metro political advisor ……

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Port Elizabethan

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