The South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) is engaged in a showdown with the IFP-led Abaqulusi (Vryheid) Local Municipality over the employment of two directors.
The labour union is claiming that the northern KwaZulu-Natal municipality is violating municipal laws by employing Sibongokuhle Dlamini, the director of corporate services, and Steffan Landman, the director of planning and development, on a permanent basis.
This is contained in a series of letters the union has been writing to the Mayor, Sifiso Mkhwanazi, Speaker, Nonkululeko Ndlela, and Municipal Manager, Zweli G Dlamini.
The last letter the union wrote to the three is dated August 1, 2023, and it was a follow-up after the previous one early last month regarding the matter was not answered.
According to the union, Dlamini’s contract with the municipality expired in November 2022, and the arrangement that was made to keep her beyond that is illegal and should be set aside.
"This conduct is a gross misconduct by the municipal manager Mr Z G Dlamini, who was suppose(d) to terminate her contract, now he has paid her for more than six months. This is regarded as a fruitless and wasteful expenditure. She is involved in appointments within the municipality, which in law renders the appointments null and void," the union pointed out in one letter to the council about Sibongokuhle.
A similar complaint was raised regarding the employment of Landman.
Moreover, the union pointed out that the municipality was violating municipal laws in terms of the new staff regulations regarding the permanent appointment of directors. If the council intends to appoint directors on a permanent basis, they should advertise the positions.
"There is no provision for the conversion of an existing employment contract of a manager directly accountable to the municipal manager to a permanent contract," the union said.
The union backed up its claims that the conversion of the two directors into permanent employees was illegal by attaching a 2022 circular from the KZN Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta).
In it, Madoda Khathide, the deputy director-general for local government, told all municipalities in the province that all directors that report directly to the municipal manager cannot be converted into permanent employees.
In the exchange of communication, Dlamini, the MM, tried to ask the council to intervene and explain that the two directors were employed on a permanent basis after a council resolution.
Dlamini wrote to Mkhwanazi, seeking a political solution to the matter and warning that the payment they receive would be deemed irregular.
However, he warned that they may encounter challenges when trying to resolve the matter.
"Challenge is expected from the affected directors, which is their right, and Director Corporate has always been in these Council meetings where these questions arose as the custodian of Council support and administration, which means she is fully aware of the questions," Dlamini, MM, told Mkhwanazi in his letter.
The union had none of it, saying that the council overstepped the mark as it has no powers to take such a decision.
The municipality did not respond to an inquiry from IOL regarding the matter.
IOL Politics