Property rates in Nelson Mandela Bay could increase by at least 2.8% in the next financial year after the municipality insourced 212 more security guards.
The municipality insourced the security guards in January despite a council resolution on December 4 stating this should only be done when there was money available.
This brings the total number of security officers insourced by the municipality to 672 after the department of safety and security cancelled its contract with M Secure and Fidelity in January 2018.
The warning about an increase in property rates is included in a budget and treasury report presented at a council meeting on December 4.
“If the council intends filling or absorbing all the 212 positions in one financial year, as the funding for safety and security is mainly property rates, the amount of R51.9m will have to be sourced by increasing property rates with about 2.8%, without even considering all other commitments that are depending in terms of funding source on property rates revenue,” the report reads.
It also warned that if the municipality insourced all 212 positions in one financial year, employee-related costs would exceed 30% of the municipality’s total operating budget.
Bay safety and security executive director Keith Meyer said the move to insource the guards was in line with a council resolution on November 30 2017 and on December 4 2018.
Meyer said while the contracts with the two security companies had been cancelled, the municipality did not employ all the security guards they had used before.
“Some of the sites the guards were protecting were ad-hoc sites,” he said.
“The municipality only insourced for permanent sites.”
Meyer said the municipality had also opted to instal alarm systems at some sites instead of having security guards.
Ward 52 ANC councillor Morgan Tshaka complained last week of vandals stripping the NU29 and NU30 housing development.
He attributed this to the municipality removing the security guards on site.
DA councillor Annette Lovemore said as far as she could recall the council had not approved the insourcing of 212 security guards but, if and when a budget was available, the priority was to appoint a management team to oversee the security guards.
“We identified that there was a need for 141 security guards but this 212 includes everyone, management staff included, but these would have to be advertised,” she said.
“The municipality does not have the budget and the next step would be to make money available in the adjustment budget.”
She said because the appointments were done in haste, certain costs were overlooked such as uniform and protective clothing.
Eastern Cape Security Officers Civil Rights and Allied Workers Union secretary Andile Ndedwa said that according to previous statements made by mayor Mongameli Bobani the municipality planned on insourcing all the security officers.
“To our amazement, instead of insourcing all, only a few hundred officers were brought on board.”
A lot of security guards were now out of work as M Secure and Fidelity’s main source of income was through the contract with the municipality.
“They are now sitting at home and waiting to be retrenched,” he said.