Salary caps for municipal managers will result in exodus to private sector

The recent gazetting of salary caps for municipal managers and managers directly accountable to them has prompted the Institute for Local Government Management (iLGM) to express “strong concerns that a crises may be lurking”.

In an effort to avert this crisis‚ the iLGM has written to Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Des van Rooyen to say the “upper limits regulation” will “have a very negative impact on the succession plans” at municipalities.

The institute said that “middle and junior managers are no longer keen to be promoted to senior positions” as the “are already earning the same salaries as their senior counterparts”.

“This creates a situation where there is no incentive for promotion‚” it elaborated.

The new upper limits would also result in a loss of skills and experience to the private sector‚ as “under the new system a senior manager‚ whose contract is up for renewal‚ will have to be content with the new gazetted upper limits regulation‚ meaning he or she potentially earns less than before”‚ the iLGM said.