DA says Tshwane ‘came dangerously close’ to missing payroll; city rejects claim

The Democratic Alliance (DA) says the City of Tshwane narrowly avoided missing its payroll this month,

DA warns employees were at risk

According to The Citizen, DA spokesperson for finance Jacqui Uys said the city “came dangerously close to not making payroll this past month.” The DA told The Citizen it had information suggesting the city might only have had sufficient cash available in its bank account to process payroll by late afternoon on the day salaries were due.

The Citizen reports Uys cited internal city reporting that, as at 15 June, the city was about R3 billion below the revenue collection targets set out in its budget funding plan. She warned that this under-collection, combined with decisions such as agreeing to pay unaffordable salary increases, has placed immense pressure on the city’s cash resources and is now putting the livelihoods of employees at risk.

The Citizen also says the DA raised concerns about creditor treatment, reporting that suppliers whose invoices have already been approved for payment are being pushed to the back of the queue.

City rejects the DA’s account

Finance MMC Eugene Modise told The Citizen the DA’s claims were false.

“These claims are false and appear to form part of a desperate attempt to undermine the financial progress achieved by the current multiparty coalition government,”

Modise said.

Modise told The Citizen:

“At no stage was the city unable, or likely to be unable, to meet its payroll obligations.”

He added that after paying salaries the city still had a positive bank balance of approximately R1.8 billion, according to The Citizen.

Modise also provided revenue figures to The Citizen, saying that

“as at 26 June, with revenue collection still continuing until the close of business on the final working day of the month, the city had collected more than R3.6 billion for June, surpassing the monthly target contained in the city’s funded budget.”

He told The Citizen that on a year-to-date basis the city has collected about 98% of the revenue projected in its budget funding plan.

Standoff leaves questions about priorities

The exchange highlights a sharp disagreement between opposition and municipal leaders over Tshwane’s fiscal position and priorities. The DA framed the issue as a cash-crunch that could endanger employees and delay payments to suppliers, while the city’s finance office framed its actions as part of a managed recovery and insisted payroll was never at risk.

What remains clear

• According to The Citizen, the DA says the city nearly failed to make payroll this month.
• Internal reporting cited by the DA showed a reported shortfall of about R3 billion against revenue targets as at 15 June, per The Citizen.
• The city told The Citizen it paid salaries and retained a positive bank balance of about R1.8 billion after payroll.
• The city told The Citizen it collected more than R3.6 billion for June and has reached about 98% of year-to-date projected revenue, according to Modise.

The Citizen provided the statements attributed in this article.