I don’t dispute the fact that it takes a highly intelligent and educated person to head up any large metropolitan municipality, however how much are these services really worth? Many city managers are earning over or close to R2 million a year, more than twice the mayor’s salary and almost as much as Jacob Zuma gets paid!
This is what some city managers are earning: Johannesburg R2.3 million; eThekwini (Durban) R2.1m; Ekurhuleni (East Rand) R1.8m; City of Cape Town R1.7m; Tshwane (Pretoria) R1.5m. Of the metros Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s (Port Elizabeth) city manager is the lowest paid, earning R1.4 million a year. His salary is, however, still far more than the R843 000 MPs are paid. Buffalo City residents can expect their new municipal manager to earn a similar amount.
To prevent these sorts of large discrepancies, the salaries of municipal public representatives (mayors, councillors etc) are capped nationally. The salaries of municipal officials, like the city manager, are set by the council. Perhaps it’s time that officials also receive national caps on their salaries.
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