Impendle Municipality staff unpaid in December: KZN Cogta issues urgent directive

KwaZulu-Natal Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi has issued an urgent directive to the Impendle Local Municipality to pay employee salaries and allowances before December 31 or face provincial government action.

Buthelezi, in a statement on Friday, said the department had noted with deep concern the failure of the municipality in the KZN Midlands to pay employee salaries and allowances for December.

He said the situation is unacceptable.

“It is deeply regrettable that municipal employees and their families are facing such hardship during the festive season. It is unacceptable for workers to be left destitute due to administrative failures,” said MEC Buthelezi.

The Cogta department said Buthelezi had issued a clear directive to the municipal leadership to pay salaries before December 31.

“If salaries are not paid before 31 December 2025, the MEC will not hesitate to take the necessary action that will restore order and functionality to the Impendle Municipality."

The department further noted that this is not the first time the municipality has found itself in this precarious position; a similar failure to pay salaries occurred in May this year, which was eventually resolved following intervention.

It said this recurrence indicates a serious lack of financial stability that cannot be allowed to continue. MEC Buthelezi has therefore deployed senior officials to conduct an urgent comprehensive analysis of the financial position of the municipality and ascertain the facts surrounding this failure to pay salaries.

It called upon the leadership of Impendle Municipality to take full responsibility and act immediately to rectify this situation.

“The council and management must prioritise the workforce and ensure that all outstanding salaries are paid without further delay,” the department said.

THE MERCURY