The City of Cape Town has given their approval on salary increases for council members. The City mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis will now earn R1.44million, while his deputy and council speaker will earn just over R1.16m, after council approved recommendations to raise salaries. Accordingly, the salary increases are linked to the top grade recommended by the South African Local Government Association (Salga) pay structure.
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With the 3% increase, Hill-Lewis’s total annual salary package was pushed up from R1.4m, including his deputy’s, Eddie Andrews and the speaker Felicity Purchase, which took effect retroactively from 1 July 2022. Furthermore, the basic salary packages of chairpersons of sub-councils will also increase to around R1.1m, thus earning the same salary as Mayco members, as per IOL.
Not only will all councillors now earn basic salaries of just over R541 000 per annum up from R525 000 but also receive cellphone allowances of R40 800 per year, in addition to pension fund contributions, special risk cover for councillors’ vehicles worth up to R750 000 and transport allowances.
According to DA councillor Anthony Moses, in presenting the proposal in council, the salary increases were an acknowledgement of the hard work councillors execute under difficult circumstances. He said the increase were also justified given the rising costs of commodities.
Meanwhile, the new salary packages will also see the mayor earning just below R1.97m total remuneration of a deputy minister but slightly more than the R1.137m earned by an MP or permanent delegate to the National Council of Provinces.
In 2021, President Cyril Ramaphosa approved salary increases which also saw premiers earning total remuneration of over R2.26m and just over R1m for members of the provincial legislatures. However, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the Pan African Congress (PAC) were the only two parties that didn’t support the salary increases.
EFF councillor Linda Mazwi said that councillors were already receiving a steady income bracket as opposed to general employees. Mazwi also commented by saying, “As a socialist party we do not support politicians enriching themselves.”
In addition, Hill-Lewis sought clarity from the EFF on whether the party was declining the salary increase. However, no indication was forthcoming.
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