Stolen pension deductions leave Mpumalanga municipal staff facing uncertain retirements

Thousands of municipal workers face uncertain retirements after employer and employee pension deductions were not paid over, according to reporting by The Citizen.

Workers report missing contributions

After four decades with a Mpumalanga municipality, a 60-year-old line manager told The Citizen he fears retirement may bring ruin rather than rest because the council failed to pay millions in employer and employee pension contributions, leaving him and other staff unsure about their financial futures.

The municipal employee said he believed thousands of rand had been deducted from his salary over two years and not paid to the retirement fund, and that he was uncertain whether employer contributions had also been withheld. He told The Citizen he had approached the pension fund adjudicator and that the municipality had been asked to provide supporting documents explaining the missing transfers.

“Most of my former colleagues who already retired did not get enough money and they are challenging the municipality to have the matter investigated.”

Retirees describe small lump sums and low stipends

The Citizen quotes a 72-year-old former finance department employee who said she was paid R600 000 on retirement and receives a monthly stipend of about R10 000. She told The Citizen that

“Most of the former longest-serving employees only received less than R1 million, mostly about R500 000.”

The publication also reported a secretary at the same municipality saying she has 10 years of service and a pension fund balance of about R700 000, and questioned why longer-serving colleagues received similar retirement amounts.

National picture and government response

According to The Citizen, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana confirmed that municipalities nationwide have withheld more than R1.7 billion in deductions. The Citizen reports that the National Treasury has refused to release the July equitable share transfers allocated to 69 municipalities after those municipalities failed to comply with the Municipal Finance Management Act and related laws.

Labour federation demands accountability

The Citizen reported comments from Cosatu parliamentary coordinator Matthew Parks, who called the withholding of pension funds an abomination and said municipal managers guilty of such acts must be charged and held personally financially liable. The Citizen said Parks warned about the risk that withholding transfers to municipalities could have unintended consequences for basic services and municipal workers’ pay in some cash-strapped areas.

What workers are asking for

The workers quoted by The Citizen said they want investigations and clear explanations from the municipality about missing transfers, and some have asked former unions to probe the matter on their behalf. The municipal employee who spoke to The Citizen said he is waiting for documents from the municipality detailing why the money was not transferred.