Former KSD staff win right to backpay after appeal fails

An appeal by the troubled King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality against paying millions of rand to hundreds of its former employees as part of a highly contentious job evaluation system has been dismissed with costs by the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein.

In 2023, the Mthatha-based council was ordered by the Mthatha high court to pay back money owed to 420 former municipal employees calculated as part of the Tuned Assessment of Skills and Knowledge system, commonly known as Task, designed to bring about uniformity of pay and service conditions at various municipalities.

The order also declared KSD’s failure to implement its own resolution taken in 2018, which directly impacts the 420 former employees, unlawful.

The high court application had been brought against the municipality in 2021.

At the centre of the municipality’s appeal to the SCA was the interpretation of a resolution adopted by the council which had reportedly approved full payment of the backpay money to all affected employees.

Whether the words “all affected employees” in the resolution included the ex-employees [respondents in the appeal] who were previously employed by KSD between 2003 and 2017 formed part of the appeal.

According to court papers, the local authority had addressed a letter to employees in 2012 on the new staff placement policy.

The letter was subsequently withdrawn and the municipality informed employees the placement process had been placed on hold.

In 2018, then mayor Dumani Zozo reportedly tabled a memorandum proposing that the council approve the normalisation of all salary grades to be aligned to the new scales in terms of Task with effect from June 18.

It also proposed council approve backpay to all affected employees in accordance with a proposed schedule.

The mayor had identified three categories; those who had left service in July 2010 and did not form part of the implementation of job evaluation when it started, those who were in service in July 2012 and were part of the job evaluation but had since left and those permanent and contract employees who were still employed.

The 420 ex-employees reportedly fell under the second category.

In her judgment last week, appeal judge Fikile Mokgohloa ruled: “I find that the council resolved to adopt the mayoral memorandum, which classified the respondents as falling under the second category of the employees affected and included in the process of the implementation of Task.

“The council resolved that the payment of the backpay will be made to the respondents between July 2018 and completed in September 2018.

“This resolution is binding on the municipality and cannot be ignored.

“The municipality’s failure to implement this resolution gave the respondents the legal right and standing to seek a declaration that such failure is unlawful.”

KSD municipal manager Ngamela Pakade said they were still studying the judgment.

One of the ex-employees, Fikile Hintsa, described the dismissal of the appeal as a huge victory.

“Many of us are living like paupers now. Instead of paying us what is due, they are spending millions on consulting lawyers in Sandton. For us this is victory.”

He said the 420 ex-employees were owed about R20m.

Hintsa, however, said some of the ex-employees had died without getting their money from the municipality.

“This is the same municipality that paid millions to people who were not supposed to get it,” he said.

Earlier in 2025, it was reported that an internal investigation had discovered that several general managers and directors had pocketed millions of rand in Task grade payments even though they were not eligible to receive a cent.

In October, it was reported that KSD had decided to classify the R87m it had paid to its employees in line with Task backpays as irregular expenditure.

UDM councillor Raymond Knock said Task was not a KSD thing but a national thing.

He said the money should have been paid out as far back as 2010.

Daily Dispatch