Buffalo City officials have clocked up more than R28-million overtime in just three months.
Mayor Alfred Mtsi tabled the metro’s financial performance report for the 2015-16 financial year’s first quarter – between July and September – at Wednesday’s council meeting.
The details of each directorate’s claims reveal that the main culprit is the water section.
With a budget of R691000 for overtime for the period under review, workers’ overtime claims total R3-million.
This is 438% over budget – despite a number of reports that some ratepayers, like those in Breidbach, were accumulating huge water bills for leakages that were reported but never fixed, said finance portfolio head Mthetheleli Sam.
He said one indigent in Breidbach was expected to pay a water bill in excess of R54000.
“People report their leakages but when officials go to register the meter reading, the same water that comes from unfixed leaks gets registered as water used,” explained Sam.
The city manager’s office also claimed high overtime, recording 266% above budget.
It was followed by:
- Executive support directorate: 262% over budget;
- Sanitation: 221% over budget; and
- Electricity: 138% over budget.
Addressing the council at the Abbotsford Christian Centre on Wednesday, Mtsi said: “The overtime issue is a matter of deep concern. We seem to spend too much on overtime.
“But the biggest challenge is how do we measure value for the money we spend on overtime?
“Does it really generate any positive spin-offs to the performance across the municipality?”
The Daily Dispatch reported in September 2013 that the metro’s community service employees – including street cleaners, refuse removers, grass cutters and maintenance workers – had claimed more than 16000 hours of overtime in May alone.
At the time, acting director Kholekile Tapile said the huge claims were a result of refuse compactor trucks breaking down in May, causing a backlog in refuse collection.
The same reason was raised in this week’s report. In it, acting mayor Xola Pakati said overtime was a root cause of overspending in almost all the metro’s departments.
“The department of solid waste is trying its level best to manage overtime but challenges refuse removal truck shortages and high rates of absenteesim,” Pakati wrote.
ANC ward councillor Gideon Norexe said the only solution was to establish a response team to make random visits.
“This response team must go to these areas after hours and during weekends to monitor what these people are doing because they are doing this purposely.
“The directors are unable to be on the ground but where are the supervisors of these workers to monitor this?
“Because the way things are these workers are only at work to make money,” said Norexe.
Cope councillor Khayalethu Twalingca suggested the matter be investigated and a report be submitted on a quarterly basis to curb overtime.
Amount spent on overtime by BCM: R28m
Amount water department was over spent on budget: 438%
Amount city managers office was over spent: 266%
Amount executive support directorate was over budget: 262%
Sanitation department’s over spend: 221%
Amount electricity went over budget: 138%
BCM dismay on overtime claims
Mayor Alfred Mtsi tabled the metro’s financial performance report for the 2015-16 financial year’s first quarter – between July and September – at Wednesday’s council meeting.
The details of each directorate’s claims reveal that the main culprit is the water section.
With a budget of R691000 for overtime for the period under review, workers’ overtime claims total R3-million.
This is 438% over budget – despite a number of reports that some ratepayers, like those in Breidbach, were accumulating huge water bills for leakages that were reported but never fixed, said finance portfolio head Mthetheleli Sam.
He said one indigent in Breidbach was expected to pay a water bill in excess of R54000.
“People report their leakages but when officials go to register the meter reading, the same water that comes from unfixed leaks gets registered as water used,” explained Sam.
The city manager’s office also claimed high overtime, recording 266% above budget.
It was followed by:
Addressing the council at the Abbotsford Christian Centre on Wednesday, Mtsi said: “The overtime issue is a matter of deep concern. We seem to spend too much on overtime.
“But the biggest challenge is how do we measure value for the money we spend on overtime?
“Does it really generate any positive spin-offs to the performance across the municipality?”
The Daily Dispatch reported in September 2013 that the metro’s community service employees – including street cleaners, refuse removers, grass cutters and maintenance workers – had claimed more than 16000 hours of overtime in May alone.
At the time, acting director Kholekile Tapile said the huge claims were a result of refuse compactor trucks breaking down in May, causing a backlog in refuse collection.
The same reason was raised in this week’s report. In it, acting mayor Xola Pakati said overtime was a root cause of overspending in almost all the metro’s departments.
“The department of solid waste is trying its level best to manage overtime but challenges refuse removal truck shortages and high rates of absenteesim,” Pakati wrote.
ANC ward councillor Gideon Norexe said the only solution was to establish a response team to make random visits.
“This response team must go to these areas after hours and during weekends to monitor what these people are doing because they are doing this purposely.
“The directors are unable to be on the ground but where are the supervisors of these workers to monitor this?
“Because the way things are these workers are only at work to make money,” said Norexe.
Cope councillor Khayalethu Twalingca suggested the matter be investigated and a report be submitted on a quarterly basis to curb overtime.
Amount spent on overtime by BCM: R28m
Amount water department was over spent on budget: 438%
Amount city managers office was over spent: 266%
Amount executive support directorate was over budget: 262%
Sanitation department’s over spend: 221%
Amount electricity went over budget: 138%
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