<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Soon after it emerged on social media last week that top
\nmanagement of the City of Cape Town is to receive a 17% salary increase later
\nthis year, pushing their packages into the R3m and R4m mark, the City\u2019s Mayco
\nmember for finance, Johan van der Merwe, issued a press release on behalf of
\nthe City of Cape Town stating that this information was not correct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A table of comparative salaries was drawn up by the action
\ngroup STOP COCT and circulated via their Facebook group on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn this table we compared the 2017\/18 salaries, which do
\nnot appear in the 2018\/19 draft budget, with the 2018\/19 salaries as proposed
\nin the current draft budget. On calculation it indicated a 17% increase in some
\ninstances and was probably the source of information for the City\u2019s media
\nrelease and subsequent apology,\u201d says Sandra Dickson, founder of website and
\nFacebook group STOP COCT \u2013 Dear Cape Town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Van der Merwe claims the figure displayed was a \u201ctypo\u201d in an
\naddendum to the draft budget and should read 7.1%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe City of Cape Town notes the reports of senior
\nmanagement increases for the 2018\/19 financial year of 17% and upwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is incorrect. The City has budgeted for an increase of
\n7.1% for the 2018\/19 financial year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Regrettably, an error crept into an external annexure table
\nin the City\u2019s tabled (draft) budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe typo caused the figure to read 17% and not 7.1%. The
\nCity sincerely apologises for this error. Such errors really are
\nuncharacteristic of our budgets. This has not impacted on the budget numbers
\nand amounts in any way. The figure was only stated in one particular table,
\nwhich serves as an annexure to the budgeted amounts-related information. This
\nreporting error will be corrected when the final budget is adopted in May
\n2018,\u201d Van der Merwe states in the press release dated 23 April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But in a search through all 1804 pages of the 2018\/19 draft \u201cWe could not find this \u2018typo\u2019 he refers to. Therefore we \u201cQuestions now arise as to why the architects of this budget When TygerBurger asked Van der Merwe to clarify this issue, Responding to TygerBurger\u2019s media enquiry on Monday morning, He referred to Table SA23 on page 110 of Annexure A of the Dickson notes that this Annexure A is an integral part of But Van der Merwe continued to stress that this error of application \u201cIt was only the particular table, calculated independently However, upon further calculation, Dickson disagrees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe total amount used by the City in this Table 53 Van der \u201cThis is only one error that was picked up by mere \u201cDue to this error, STOP COCT has sent a letter to the City In this letter, Dickson states that they reject the contents \u201cAs per Councillor van der Merwe\u2019s media statement on 22 \u201cDuring our audit, it was evident that these so-called \u201cWe humbly request that the draft budget be urgently To date the City has received some 25\u2009000 emails from the Of these 24\u2009900 emails, some 22\u2009000 were received via the \u201cIt is important to note this is not a petition but the \u201cOnly four days remain before the period of public To make your voice heard, visit: <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Soon after it emerged on social media last week that top management of the City of Cape Town is to receive a 17% salary increase later this year, pushing their 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\nbudget by members of <\/span>STOP COCT \u2013 Dear
\nCape Town, no trace of this 17% \u201ctypo\u201d referred to by Van der Merwe could be
\nfound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\ncan only assume that he is responding to the table with comparative salaries as
\npublished by us on our Facebook group. (See below.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nissued an apology for figures not present in the budget.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nthe \u201ctypo\u201d he alluded to in his statement last week has apparently now morphed
\ninto an error in factor application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nhe said: \u201cWhen the table was populated for purposes of publication with the
\ntabled budget, a factor of 17% was applied instead of a factor of 7.1%. This
\nwas human error.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\ndraft budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nthe budget and not an \u201cexternal annexure table\u201d of the budget, as was indicated
\nby Van der Merwe in his previous media statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\ndid not impact on the actual budget numbers and amounts in any way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nof the budget, which reflects this error. This reporting error will be
\ncorrected at the occasion of final budget adoption in May 2018.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nMerwe refers to, was used elsewhere in the budget to calculate the total amount
\nfor salaries and staff cost,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\ncoincidence, just two weeks before public participation closes. How many other
\nerrors could be hiding in the 1800-page budget that was not picked up?\u201d she
\nasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nrequesting a complete withdrawal of the draft budget in its current form, as it
\nis unacceptable to expect the public to peruse a document which could contain
\nan unknown number of errors,\u201d says Dickson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nof the draft budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nApril 2018, there are \u2018typos\u2019 in the draft budget which \u2018will be corrected when
\nthe final budget is adopted in May 2018\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u2018typos\u2019 have indeed pulled through to the budget summary, which impacts on the
\ncomplete budget, and commenting on incorrect figures will be fruitless. We can
\ntherefore not accept a flawed submission in the form of the 2018\/19 draft
\nbudget,\u201d she states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\ncorrected from all anomalies and typos as referred to, but not limited to, and
\nresubmitted to the public for comment within a reasonable time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\npublic to make their voices heard over the massive increases in the City\u2019s
\ntariffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nSTOP COCT \u2013 Dear Cape Town action group website portal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nfirst step in an essential legal process. And here\u2019s the best bit: each comment
\nmust, by law, be acknowledged and considered by the City. Had this been a
\npetition, they would treat it as a single comment,\u201d says Dickson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nparticipation ends on 5 May,\u201d says Dickson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nhttps:\/\/www.dearcapetown.co.za\/coct-budget\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n