GEORGE NEWS - The speaker of Garden Route District Municipality, Georlene Wolmarans, announced at the council meeting of 26 April that she had received a letter from MEC for Local Government, Anton Bredell, which granted her the opportunity to respond to seven allegations of maladministration, corruption, fraud and/or serious malpractice at the GRDM.

Wolmarans was granted 15 days to respond. George Herald will be attending a special council meeting on Friday 13 May, but the content of the agenda is not yet available.

In the 26 April council meeting, Wolmarans said that, although she was not in a position to divulge what the seven allegations are, she could say one of them is the gratuity payment that was made to the MM (Monde Stratu) as well as to former political office staff members in the previous term.

Bredell's letter - also called a Section 5 notice - was a request for information and a response to allegations. In a previous article on the matter (George Herald, 28 April, p 4) Wolmarans was quoted as referring to the minister's "investigation". During the same meeting, Mayor Memory Booysen also referred to the matter as an "investigation".

Wolmarans corrected herself later in the meeting and apologised for her choice of the word "investigation", saying the Department of Local Government had made inquiries and wanted certain information.

The constituency head of GRDM, Tertuis Simmers, said an item will have to be submitted to Council regarding the outcome of the inquiries made by the department. He called it a preliminary investigation, saying as soon as the department receives a complaint, it makes inquiries, and this can turn into a formal investigation if there is sufficient evidence.

MEC for Local Government, Anton Bredell.

Not 'the norm'

Asked about the gratuity policy, both Simmers and Bredell said it is not the norm for political appointees to receive a gratuity payment when their contract comes to an end.

Asked if it ever happens that an official such as an MM will receive a gratuity payment [such as the payment made to the MM] in addition to an annual performance bonus, Bredell again stipulated that "it is not the norm". 

He said the remuneration paid to municipal managers is regulated by the Upper Limits Notice, which is published by the national minister of Cogta. "Municipalities are required to remunerate municipal managers within the ambit of the appli-cable legislative framework."

Municipal Manager Monde Stratu.

No objections

The policy on employees leaving council service (also referred to as the "gratuity policy") was unanimously approved by Council on 22 June 2021. The following parties were present: DA, ANC, PBI and Icosa. 

According to GRDM Mayor Memory Booysen, the policy was also workshopped with councillors before being adopted by Council. "The process, therefore, was thorough and followed the necessary legal processes," he said.

Mayor Memory Booysen

Asked about the main purpose of the policy, Booysen said the GRDM wanted to ensure that there is no unfair discrimination and everyone is treated equally. "All municipalities in the country pay long service bonuses to their employees. However, contract employees do not receive the same benefit because of their duration in office, hence Garden Route District Municipality approved this policy. A similar gesture has been extended to members of parliament, provincial legislatures and councillors post-elections." 

Those who would benefit from the said policy include employees on contract who are linked to the political office term, including the municipal manager.

Booysen said councillors never objected to the policy. "Earlier this year, further information regarding the beneficiaries was requested when the item served before Council. Councillors are in their full right to request details where they see fit," he said.

Constituency head of GRDM, Tertuis Simmers.

It would be apt to refer to the gratuity payments as 'danger pay', as it is paid out to employees who stand to lose their positions when their political masters fail to be reelected. Group Editor, Ilse Schoonraad

READ MORE: Gratuity payments raise red flags

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