The department says remedial measures must be implemented to ensure affected municipal workers are paid within 48 hours.
The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (KZN COGTA) in KwaZulu-Natal has ordered an investigation into claims that employees of the Zululand District Municipality have not received their September salaries.
Siboniso Mngadi of the department says the government will not tolerate municipalities failing to respect workers’ rights.
Investigation
“In the absence of formal communication from the municipality, MEC [Thulasizwe Buthelezi] has directed KZN Cogta’s Head of Department to immediately investigate the cause of non-payment of salaries.
“He will also implement remedial measures for salaries to be paid within 48 hours.
“He will also ensure that consequence management is enforced against officials who are responsible for this financial misconduct.”
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Impendle municipality
Meanwhile, earlier this month, the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) called for a financial lifeline for the Impendle Local Municipality.
The municipality is currently under administration, but SAMWU says the intervention has failed to resolve its financial problems, including ongoing delays in paying workers’ salaries.
The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (KZN COGTA) in KwaZulu-Natal ordered the municipality’s administrator to urgently resolve the salary crisis and pay workers their outstanding salaries within 48 hours.
The union’s Mzwandile Zuma says workers were paid but are still owed months of pay.
Zuma says a government bailout would prevent the financial crisis from continuing to affect service delivery.
Source: https://www.ecr.co.za/news/news/cogta-probes-alleged-non-payment-of-salaries/