Metro mayors get driver, bodyguards and rake in the big moolah

15 May 2011 - 02:46 By WERNER SWART
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Being mayor of one of South Africa's bigger metros has its perks.



Should the ANC's Tony Ehrenreich or the DA's Patricia de Lille get the nod from voters in Cape Town, he or she will enjoy a salary package of well over R850000 a year.

This is apart from having full-time staff, a driver, bodyguards and, of course, the prestige of being the city's number one resident.

Ehrenreich has, however, said he would not accept the salary if he won.

The salary for the top job in Johannesburg is even better.

Frontrunner Parks Tau, who is leading the ANC campaign, will enjoy a comfortable salary package if he gets the job.

In the city's last annual report, mayor Amos Masondo's inclusive package was given as R955000.

East of Johannesburg, the executive mayor of Ekurhuleni will be able to compete with the best-paid mayors in the country by taking home R950000 a year.

The same goes for the mayors of Tshwane and eThekwini, where mayor Obed Mlaba's last reported salary was R866000.

Mayors in smaller municipalities earn less.

The executive mayor of the Metsweding district municipality, which includes towns such as Cullinan and Bronkhorstspruit, for example, receives a package of R517483 a year, including transport and cellphone allowances.

In another smaller municipality, the Sol Plaatje council in Kimberley, the mayor draws R464621 a year.

It's not only mayors who earn hefty packages, as the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers Act shows.



In Johannesburg the maximum package for a member of the executive or mayoral committee is R723191 a year, which includes a basic salary and car allowance.

For someone serving in the same position on the mayoral committee of a small municipality, the package shrinks to R397321.

Ward councillors in the big metros can earn up to R337488 a year, while those in smaller municipalities can earn as little as R158928.

But the biggest earners in local government are the managers running the cities and towns - although their salaries are not determined by the act, but by the councils.

Johannesburg's municipal manager, Mavela Dlamini, receives an all-inclusive package of R2.1-million, while eThekwini's Mike Sutcliffe rakes in R1.9-million.

Ekurhuleni's municipal manager, Khaya Ngema, is not far off with R1.8-million annually - much more than his counterpart in Tshwane, acting manager Oupa Nkoane, who gets R1.2-million. Cape Town's Achmat Ebrahim earns R1.4-million.

Nelson Mandela Bay's municipal manager, Elias Ntoba, earns about R1.04-million.

Kimberley's Sol Plaatje municipal manager, Goolam Akharwaray, didn't do too badly for someone running a relatively small municipality - earning a package of R1.4-million last year.

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