This after the municipality issued a notice to employees about their postponed salary payment. The Head of the Department (HOD), Mokete Duma, says the municipality has since approached them for assistance regarding employees' salaries. He says despite the department being fully aware of the challenges facing this municipality, the department won’t be able to bail them out this time. 

Duma says the department’s budget is a bit constrained owing to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

“The budget that was allocated to assist municipalities is almost exhausted as we have, on a first-come-first-serve basis, [helped other municipalities]. We have already assisted some municipalities in the province and we will have to check within other programmes what the plan in terms of those programmes is. And if the money might not be used, we might shift money and maybe help them. But at this stage, we are quite constrained to actually assist them with any amount of money,” he adds.

He says the municipality has made a special request to help them with salaries.

In May 2021, the council removed both the mayor and MM at a special council sitting after instructions from Cogta. The municipality recently experienced a wave of protests in two areas, namely Winburg and Theunissen.

OFM News