The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes further progress made in the fight to restore dignity to municipal employees who were robbed of their pensions by uncaring municipalities in the Northern Cape.
This follows the arrest of the Municipal Manager of Kamiesberg municipality, Rufus Beukes, for contravention of the Pension Funds Act 24 of 1956. Beukes, who was released on R10 000 bail, stands accused of failing to pay over and/or making late payments of contributions, deducted from employees remuneration and employer contributions, to the Consolidated Retirement Fund from September 2019 to April 2024. The late payment interest exceeds R2 million.
The DA is pleased that an example is finally being made of defaulting municipalities that have caused prejudice to employees through the non-payment of monthly contributions to pension funds.
For years, the DA has been vocal about the plague of pension fund fraud in the Northern Cape. It has denied countless municipal employees, who have dedicated years to the service of their employer and the public, the opportunity to retire in dignity.
I have also personally laid criminal charges in relation to contraventions of the Pension Funds Act in Kai !Garib and Renosterberg, where court cases regarding pension theft are ongoing.
We hope that the Kamiesberg court case will not only expose the true extent of pension injustices that have occurred but also kickstart the remediation process for those who were unfairly penalised by the crimes committed by the municipality.
The DA will closely monitor the Kamiesberg case, alongside the Renosterberg and Kai !Garib cases.