Durban - The eThekwini Metro allegedly appointed new executive assistants for ANC Exco members shortly before lockdown.
Answers to questions posed by DA chief whip Thabani Mthethwa revealed that the appointments were made despite all Exco members already having personal assistants and access to municipal support from line departments and secretariat.
In a statement caucus leader Nicole Graham said the municipality refused to confirm which task grade these assistants are on, but that it was widely rumoured that they are on a task grade 12.
"If this is correct, this means they would earn between R350 000 and R470 000 a year and potentially more with a vehicle allowance. This is the same leadership that was sent in as the ANC's "A-team" to save the municipality after the previous political leadership was forced to resign. Unfortunately, things seem to have only gotten worse. The DA's proposal for senior municipal leadership and full-time councillors to take salary cuts was refused and service delivery is at an all-time low,” Graham said.
She further called on the municipality to return the luxury BMWs bought for the mayor, his deputy and the speaker to the tune of about R4 million.
“We are deeply concerned about the continued perks that the municipality's leadership continues to afford themselves, even in times of crisis. In ordinary times, this would be extravagant. However, given the Covid-19 pandemic and the growing cash crisis that eThekwini finds itself in, this is completely absurd.
The City Hall parking lot is already full of BMWs that can be used. Critically, projections showed that after Covid-19, 41% of Durbanites would be unemployed. Residents are struggling to make ends meet and have been threatened with disconnections if they cannot pay their bills because the city desperately needs money to function. This doesn't seem to be a concern when it comes to perks enjoyed by ANC politicians,” Graham said.