Amajuba District Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has been exposed for knowingly paying two councillors for a single position — a scandalous irregularity that has persisted for nearly a year despite being flagged by officials and council members. The admission was made by acting municipal manager Nandi Dlamini during a joint oversight visit by the portfolio committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) and the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) on Wednesday, 28 January. Dlamini told parliamentarians that while the Electoral Commission of South Africa gazetted 29 councillors, the municipality has been paying 30 since May 2025.
She initially attributed the confusion to Team Sugar, a political party from Newcastle, which withdrew one councillor from the Newcastle Local Municipality and replaced him with another. “Now I think that’s when the confusion started with the municipality. From what I’m told, that started in May 2025,” Dlamini said.
However, her explanation was swiftly challenged by committee members who demanded clarity on the straightforward issue of how many councillors were on the municipal payroll. The committees raised alarm over inconsistent information provided by municipal leadership, with mayor Thembelihle Mthembu’s opening remarks contradicting the payroll figures later revealed during questioning. Cogta committee chairman Dr Zweli Mkhize pressed Dlamini on the discrepancy, rejecting attempts to complicate what he described as a simple matter.
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“No, we’re asking you, once you try and be technical and tricky, I don’t think we’re going to end up well. The issue is simple. How many councillors are paying?
Your mayor says that 29. You now have two answers. Who’s telling us the real story and who’s not telling us the real story?” Mkhize questioned.
The chief financial officer confirmed to the committee that the municipality has been paying 30 councillors since as early as May, despite only 29 being officially recognised. When questioned about the nature of the irregularity, Dlamini clarified that two separate individuals were receiving salaries for what should have been a single councillor position.
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