Cape Town – The eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality’s metro police are facing an escalating R80 million overtime bill, largely due to staff shortages, unbudgeted duties, and an expanding workload that exceeds the department’s core mandate.
According to IOL, the metro police unit has been paying between R19 million and R20 million monthly in overtime since July. The unit’s head, Sbonelo Mchunu, stated that the current financial strain is the result of unavoidable operational pressures.
“The R37 million mentioned by the councillor is too low; for the months of July, August, and September, we have been paying about R19 million to R20 million in overtime. We are still to pay the October account, which will then put the figure at R80 million in total to date,” stated Mchunu.
He further explained that many of the overtime hours stem from non-mandated assignments.
“The unit is assigned many duties that contribute to the overtime pay. We are tasked with protecting senior officials and councillors, which is not part of our mandate, and not budgeted for, contributing to the need for overtime,” he said.
According to News24, between 2018 and 2023, the municipality paid about R3.6 billion in overtime across departments, with metro police accounting for R576 million of that total. The publication also reported that weak oversight and chronic understaffing have continued to inflate the city’s wage and overtime bills.
Official city budget documents reviewed by The Mercury show that the municipality had attempted to manage overtime costs by adjusting shift systems and allocating additional funds for critical services under “Community and Emergency Services – Metro Police.” However, the documents also reflect that the department’s spending continues to exceed its allocated overtime ceiling.
@Action4SA is concerned with VIP bodyguards’ expenditure for Councilors in @eThekwiniM . The city is spending more than R100 million per annum towards security for about 64 Councillors without even threats analysis reports by SAPS. Some have even metro police as bodyguards. pic.twitter.com/bYmAtjj60g
— Zwakele Mncwango (@Zwakelem) November 3, 2025
According to Mchunu, recruitment remains one of the department’s biggest challenges. “Other metros recruit annually: the Cape Town Metro recruits a thousand each year … We are way below that,” he stated.
EThekwini currently has fewer than 3 000 officers, while the ideal complement is around 5 000, leaving the force overstretched, the report said.
The ongoing overtime surge has raised questions about sustainability and accountability. Councillors have urged the municipality to conduct an internal review and tighten controls to prevent misuse of funds.
“If this is not addressed urgently, overtime will continue to drain the city’s resources and compromise service delivery,” stated one opposition councillor.
As reported by the City of eThekwini’s financial statements for January 2025, the metro police’s overtime expenditure has been formally noted, though no detailed breakdown was provided in the published report.
The municipality is expected to address the matter in its upcoming 2025/26 mid-term budget review, where reforms to staff deployment and overtime management are likely to be tabled.
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Compiled by: Lisabeal Nqamqhele
