There is a syndicate operating in some Free State municipalities, according to Wouter Wessels, FF Plus MPL in the Free State legislature. Third-party deductions from employees’ salaries, which are supposed to be paid to pension and medical funds as well as SARS and other third parties, are being stolen.
Wessels says that at some municipalities, like the Mantsopa Local Municipality that comprises Ladybrand, Tweespruit, Excelsior and Hobhouse, there are employees that are part of the syndicate and they take the third-party deductions from fellow employees’ salaries and pay it out to their friends and family.
According to Wessels, this practice is not limited to the Mantsopa Local Municipality. The provincial treasury is already aware of these criminal activities and an investigation is underway.
Wessels scorned the ruling party for its inability to exercise control over its local municipalities.
“It’s a shame that things have been allowed to go this far. It makes one wonder how many cadres are involved in these underhand dealings themselves.
“Besides the possibility that a syndicate is operating in some municipalities, other municipalities are also guilty of criminality because they are using third-party deductions to cover operational expenses instead of paying the money to the relevant third parties.”
The money owed to, amongst others, SARS and pension funds by the Mafube Local Municipality, which comprises Frankfort, Villiers, Tweeling and Cornelia, amount to R16,3 million and R43,8 million respectively. The Masilonyana Local Municipality (Parys, Vredefort, Edenville, Koppies and Heilbron) owes R3,8 million and R7,3 million to SARS and medical and pension funds respectively. The Ngwathe Local Municipality owes approximately R6,5 million in salary contributions. These are but a few examples of this corrupt practice rampant in Free State municipalities.
“The FF Plus is going to lodge a complaint with the Public Protector with regard to the non-payment of third-party deductions by municipalities in the Free State.
“When third-party deductions, which are taken from employees’ salaries, are not paid to the correct third parties by the municipality’s management, they are in fact stealing from their own employees and they are also exacerbating the financial crises experienced by many municipalities,” said Wessels.
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