DURBAN - A DEAD employee of the Msunduzi Municipality continued to receive a salary six months after dying.
Administrator Scelo Duma said he discovered this recently while scrutinising the payroll.
He did not reveal the exact financial loss to the municipality.
Duma was giving an update on the state of the municipality to councillors during a council meeting yesterday. His update focused on administrative and political stability, service delivery and financial performance.
He addressed the issue of employees who have not presented themselves for a head count, and said 38 employees were yet to present themselves.
The salaries of these employees have been frozen. Originally, there were 121 employees who had failed to present themselves, but the number came down as more people had been accounted for.
Duma stressed that they had not declared these employees as “ghost” employees.
“Of concern is that of the 38 employees, there is one who passed away in July but continued to receive a salary for months after the passing.
“The salary was only stopped in January when I directed that the salaries be stopped. We should investigate as to who was drawing the salary after the employee had passed on.
“This also shows the systems of the municipality to be very poor because the system should have stopped the payment as soon as the person was reported to have passed on,” he said.
Duma revealed that Msunduzi will remain under administration until October.
He also addressed the issue of councillor absenteeism, noting it was high.
Duma said several councillors had been disciplined for tardiness and given verbal warnings, yet some continued to miss meetings and could face expulsion.
He said the Office of the Auditor General had raised a query on whether a councillor who was absent from work should receive a salary.
Councillor Salim Goge of Al Jama said employees earning a salary and not showing up should be dealt with.
DA councillor Sibongiseni Majola said councillors who missed three meetings were in breach of the code of conduct, and should be dealt with.
ACDP councillor Rienus Niemand said the managers are responsible for the employees they supervise and should be held accountable for their absence.
Msunduzi mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla said it was inaccurate that the Exco was among the committees that failed to sit according to their schedule.
THE MERCURY