Cape Town - The National Treasury and the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) have warned municipalities to stop deducting pension funds and other monies from their employees for their operations.
In December last year, it emerged that municipalities had failed to make payments to third parties, such as the SA Revenue Service (Sars).
This move by the various councils prompted Freedom Front Plus MP Wouter Wessels to ask Cogta Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma if she was aware of outstanding payments to third parties, and if she would provide a list of implicated municipalities and each amount owed to each third party.
Wessels also asked if the department had a plan to intervene in the specified municipalities that were using third-party deductions for operational expenditure.
In her written response, Dlamini Zuma said her department was aware of the municipalities’ outstanding payments to third parties such as pension funds, medical aids and Sars.
She said the FSCA has recently undertaken an exercise to determine the extent of contributions due to municipal retirement funds by municipalities.
“The list of the relevant municipalities and the amount owed to each third party may be obtained from the FSCA or the minister of finance,” she said.
“The department does not have the list of municipalities and amount owed to medical schemes and the South African Revenue Service. The honourable member is advised to request the information from the ministers of finance and health who administer the relevant legislation.”
She said the minister, the Treasury and the FSCA had intervened, by writing letters to the affected municipalities, reminding them to adhere to their obligations as set out the Municipal Finance Management Act.
Under the Act, the municipal manager is responsible for the management of the municipality’s expenditure.
It also provides that the accounting officer must report to the council on all expenditure incurred by the municipality on staff salaries, wages, allowances and benefits in manner that discloses such expenditure per type of expenditure.
Responding to another question, Dlamini Zuma said her department was unaware of the allegations that syndicates, working with municipal officials, paid third-party deductions into their own bank accounts.
“Considering the veracity of this, the honourable member is advised to open a criminal case with the South African Police Services for further investigation into these allegations and to bring such information to the relevant municipalities to enable them to initiate disciplinary processes.”
Asked how her department was assisting municipal officials whose pensions were affected by the non-payment of contributions by the municipalities, Dlamini Zuma said the FSCA wrote letters in December to municipalities with contributions to pension funds.
She said the FSCA was reminding affected municipalities to honour their legal obligations and of the consequences if they fail to do so.
Political Bureau