Joburg can’t pay its bills, but wants to hire 1,000 more managers and professionals anyway
Johannesburg plans to add 1,000 managers and professionals to its workforce, according to budget documents, even as the city fails to pay bills for power and fuel supplies.
The decision comes as the South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana tells the city to address a wage bill he says it can’t afford.
In an April letter to Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero, Godongwana threatened to withdraw state funding unless the authorities cancel plans to increase municipal employee pay by R10.3 billion.
The city, South Africa’s biggest, plans to increase its workforce by 4.4%, or about 1,700 people, this financial year to more than 40,000.
Included in that is a plan to add 695 municipal and senior managers and 308 “professionals,” according to a review of its budget documents.
Total pay packages — including allowances and performance bonuses — for senior managers range from R1.9 million to R4.4 million, multiples of the average household income of R204,359.
Still, the National Treasury said in its response to questions that its primary concern was the broader wage bill resulting from the agreement with labour unions rather than “the filling of critically funded vacant positions.”
“The National Treasury’s concern was the increase in the wage bill in relation to the politically facilitated wage settlement agreement,” it said.
Johannesburg’s dominant labour union is the South African Municipal Workers Union, which is part of a labour federation that’s in a political alliance with the African National Congress, the party that leads Johannesburg’s ruling coalition.
Both Morero and Godongwana are ANC members. The city didn’t respond to requests for comment.
“The city’s failure to provide a clear explanation for the financial impact and operational necessity of these appointments raises serious concerns,” the Democratic Alliance, the main opposition party in the city council, said in response to questions.
Since Godongwana sent his letter on April 23 to Morero, the city has been in talks with the National Treasury about its financial management.
Still, senior city officials have repeatedly said they won’t cancel the wage agreement.
Can’t pay for fuel
The push for more hires comes as the city halted some essential services because it can’t pay for fuel, the DA said.
The “City of Johannesburg is facing a fuel crisis that has left municipal services grounded and now threatens service delivery across the city,” the Democratic Alliance said in a statement sent to Bloomberg on Wednesday.
Earlier, a councillor who is a member of the coalition that runs the municipality and oversees the transport portfolio, issued a statement saying the Johannesburg Roads Agency had suspended operations.
The crisis adds to the financial woes of a metropolis of 4.8 million people, with the municipality mired in corruption scandals and unable to provide reliable water, electricity and other basic services.
The collapse of services comes ahead of municipal elections in November, with the DA mounting a campaign to dislodge the African National Congress — the senior partner in the coalition that runs the city.
The two parties are part of a coalition that runs the country at a national level, but don’t cooperate in Johannesburg.
Spokespeople for the city didn’t answer calls to their mobile phones, text messages or emails.
The fuel shortage may also affect the water and refuse collection departments, the DA said.
“Potholes cannot be repaired, traffic lights cannot be fixed, refuse cannot be collected and water infrastructure faults cannot be attended to,” the party said.
“This is a crisis that will be felt in every community if it is not addressed urgently.”
The agency that maintains Johannesburg’s roads suspended services with effect from June 15, the office of Kenny Kunene, the councillor responsible for transport, said in the statement.
The crisis extends beyond the agency, said Solly Mkhize, the councillor’s spokesman. “It’s the whole city,” he said by phone.
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