KZN's Impendle Municipality resolves financial issues, December salary payments made
Impendle Municipality pays December salaries, but financial stability concerns prompt further intervention.
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All employees, councillors, and officials at Impendle Local Municipality received their December salaries and allowances ahead of the December 31 deadline.
It was reported a week ago that salaries had not been paid and KwaZulu-Natal Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC, Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi, had issued a directive to the municipal leadership to pay salaries before December 31.
Buthelezi welcomed news of the salary payments, praising the municipal leadership for acting promptly.
“We are pleased that the leadership of Impendle Municipality acted with the necessary urgency to resolve this impasse. The payment of salaries is a primary administrative obligation, and fulfilling it restores a measure of dignity to the municipal workforce,” said MEC Buthelezi.
While the immediate crisis has been averted, the department noted concerns about the municipality’s overall financial health.
Recurring cash flow challenges, including a similar delay in May 2025 and the recent withholding of the equitable share by National Treasury point to deep-seated structural issues that require sustainable solutions.
“While this payment is welcome, it serves as an immediate relief rather than a permanent solution. We cannot allow a situation where the municipality operates from crisis to crisis,” MEC Buthelezi added.
To ensure long-term stability, a team of senior financial experts deployed by the MEC will continue their work at the municipality, the department noted.
The experts will assist the administration in addressing the root causes of the financial distress, including the management of conditional grants and the implementation of the post-audit action plan following the recent adverse audit opinion.
The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, under MEC Buthelezi's leadership, remains committed to supporting Impendle Municipality in strengthening its governance and financial management systems to prevent a recurrence of such incidents.