10 Jun 2014

Some councilors in Serowe Administration Authority (SAA) have voiced displeasure at the council’s decision to slash ward allowance without their knowledge.

They alleged that they had also been removed from group one allowance category to group four without being informed about the developments but only realised it when they received their monthly payments.

Ward allowances are determined by amongst others the area accessibility, roads, ward size, terrain and categorised into four groups.  Group one councillors get higher allowance over group four counterparts who are said to be in fairly developed wards.

The move was labeled criminal by others like Cllr Lesego Raditanka who is also chairperson for Central District Council. It was alleged that the changes had only affected SAA and Tonota sub-district.

Mr Raditanka, who claimed ignorance of the savingram that allegedly instructed the re-grouping of wards, said it was gravely wrong for officers to have cut councillors’ ward allowances without their consent.

He argued that he was once paid handsomely his backpays after the same development implemented back in the days when Ms Margaret Nasha was still the minister under whose portfolio the councils fell.

“You can’t effect drastic actions like these without first informing the affected persons,” Cllr Modisakgotla Makwati of Sunnyside expressed his frustrations and urged the senior assistant council secretary’s (SACS) office to treat the matter with the sensitivity it deserved.

The SACS office conceded the development and promised that the matter was being attended to as it had been already reported to headquarters of the district.
SAA chairperson Mr Bafana Motseothata who also expressed his shock at the allowance mix-up promised that the SACS office would provide feedback during the sitting.

“It is true that such claims are alive and I have taken the matter up with SACS to ensure that your concerns are being attended to,” said Mr Motseothata who revealed that he was the first to break the news to SACS. ENDS