The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) has said that corruption-accused former eThekwini mayor, Zandile Gumede, had been rewarded for poor performance by being given a position on the KwaZulu-Natal legislature, which would see her current salary more than double. 

Gumede remained a councillor after she was axed as mayor by her political party, the African National Congress (ANC), last year. She was sworn in as a member of provincial legislature (MPL) on Wednesday. 

According to Outa's project manager in KZN, Tim Tyrrell: “Gumede’s earnings will now drastically increase. As an ordinary councillor she earned a gross salary of about R512 000 per annum. As an MPL in the KwaZulu-Natal legislature, her gross salary will be R1.1-million as well as several perks such as 24 free flights a year and various other allowances."

Gumede was arrested in May 2019 on charges of corruption and was removed as mayor in August that year. 

She is currently out on R50 000 bail for her alleged role in a Durban Solid Waste tender scandal that involved other councillors, officials, and service providers, with the quantum of the crime now sitting between R389-million and R430-million and expected to increase. 

Tyrrell said via a statement on Thursday that the appointment was an insult to South Africans and an affront to claims by the provincial government that it would not tolerate corruption within its ranks. 

"Her redeployment by the KZN ANC is of further concern considering she was ostensibly removed as mayor for poor performance and not for her alleged links to a R430-million City waste contract scandal.

"This move is also a clear climb-down from a decision taken by the KZN ANC provincial executive council in March 2019 that stated 'all comrades charged with serious crimes must step aside from their positions of responsibility in government, pending the conclusion of their legal cases'”, said Tyrrell.

Outa project manager, Thabile Zuma, said: “It is unclear what benefit Zandile Gumede will bring to the provincial legislature. Considering she was officially removed as mayor for her poor governance performance, her skills are wholly unsuited within a legislature setting. 

"If she was unofficially removed because of the criminal charges, then her lack of judgment for at the very least being tainted by such a scandal should be questioned. It is unfair that South Africans should carry her financially while she attempts to clear her name.”