Tshwane councillors’ increase challenged in court

Tshwane mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya has six bodyguards allocated to her despite only being entitled to two bodyguards per shift in a two-shift system. Picture: Michel Bega/The Citizen A pensioner from Bronkhorstspruit is challenging the 2024/25 salary increase of 5% for councillors in the City of Tshwane in court, arguing that they were only entitled to half of it. Cecilia Knox is also asking the High Court in Pretoria to set aside council decisions providing for what she describes as an excessive and unauthorised number of VIP protectors for the mayor, Dr Nasiphi Moya, and members of her mayoral committee.

An allowance of R35 000 per month granted to each protector in lieu of overtime is also on her chopping block. Moneyweb earlier reported that this controversial allowance, which municipal union Imatu also opposed, would push the protectors’ annual income to more than R1 million. Imatu’s counterpart, Samwu, however, wants the allowance extended beyond the mobile protectors currently receiving it, a move that could double the number of eligible officers.

It has officially declared a dispute with the employer in this regard. The metro has indicated that it will oppose Knox’s court application. Knox says in her affidavit to the court that news articles about these matters prompted her to conduct her own research.

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She then searched for a legal team prepared to defer its fees until the case was concluded, and only after securing that, did she launch the application. Knox refers to a special council meeting on 12 September 2025. The agenda only had one item: “Annual Adjustment of Councillor Remuneration in terms of the Determination of Upper Limits of Salaries, Allowances and Benefits of different members of Municipal Councils for the 2024/2025 Municipal Financial Year.” A report before the council proposed a 5% increase in annual remuneration, which would have set it at the following amounts: This excludes certain allowances, including a R3 600 monthly cellphone allowance, a R317 monthly data allowance, and a basic tools-of-trade allowance.

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