Loyiso Sidimba|Published1 hour agoJoburg budget vote collapses over R1.3 billion rise in salary bill

The City of Johannesburg council meeting has failed to adopt the 2025/26 operating adjustment budget after the item did not muster the required 136 votes. The City of Johannesburg extraordinary council meeting to approve the 2025/26 operatingadjustment budgetwas abandoned after the item failed to get the required votes, forcing deputy mayor and finance MMC Loyiso Masuku to withdraw it. Following avoterequiring support from at least 136 of the city’s 270 councillors, speaker Margaret Arnolds announced that out of the councillors present, 58 had chosen to abstain while another 67 rejected it outright.

Arnolds said 117 councillors had voted “yes” but this fell short of the 136 needed to carry through the item. “We would also like to inform Samwu (SA Municipal Workers’ Union) that the EFF, DA and ActionSA rejected their salary and wage (increases) implementation,” she said, sparking loud protestations and accusations of the parties being enemies of the workers. Much of the opposition to the adjustment budget was due to R1.35 billion overspending on employee-related costs.

GOOD Party councillor and chairperson of the section 79 finance oversight committee Matthew Cook complained about spending on employee-related costs increasing by R1.35bn while the expenditure on contracted services is being reduced by more than R1bn. EFF councillor Saseka Zitha said employee-related costs would increase by more than R1.3bn and that while workers must always be treated fairly, councillors must also ensure that the city’s wage bill does not grow at the expense of service delivery and infrastructure investment. DA shadow finance MMC Chris Santana said employee costs have increased by R1.35bn bringing the total wage bill to approximately R23bn, nearly 27% of the municipality’s operating revenue. ActionSA councillor Steven Nkonyeni told the meeting that municipal-owned entities had increased the wage bill.