Unless the City Council can gain control of its staff costs, Cape Town is headed for serious financial problems says the Cape Chamber of commerce and Industry.
“In a detailed examination of the draft budget for this year we found that provision has been made for pay increases of 17 and 18 percent for the top executives, turning them all into multi-millionaires,” said Ms Janine Myburgh, President of the Chamber.
Senior managers are set for a 13.8 percentage increase.
According to the draft budget, the municipal manager will earn a total package of R4 064 276 a year or R339 000 a month. The chief finance officer is set to earn about R3.8 million. The executive director of the Mayor’s office will see his salary rise by 18 percent to nearly R3.3 million.
Others in the R3.3 million bracket (R274 000 a month) include the executive directors for corporate services, informal settlements, water and waste services, safety and security, social services, transport and urban development. The Executive director for energy gets a 10 percent increase and moves up to R2.3 million a year.
By contrast the Mayor and Deputy Mayor earn R1.45m and R1.2 m.
“When the unions see increases of 18 percent and multi-million rand packages for other senior staff, their demands will rocket,” said Ms Myburgh. “Negotiating in these circumstances will be difficult to say the least.
