The second ordinary council meeting of the City of Johannesburg on September 13 was no smooth sailing as EFF councillors added their voice to protesters.
Before executive mayor, Clr Herman Mashaba could deliver his acceptance speech, EFF councillor and regional secretary of the party, Silumko Mabona, instructed the mayor to address protesting community members outside the council chambers.
“We were approached by protesters in the morning to request Mayor Mashaba to address them regarding money matters,” said Mabona.
The protesters claimed to be DA volunteers who campaigned for the party and were promised incentives for their services but say they have not received a cent to date. According to the protesters, they were promised they would be paid R50 daily by the DA and a further R150 per day rate between August 1 and 3.
“Black people cannot be exploited like this and we must not keep quite. This is no longer a DA problem but as council we need to address such injustice to the people. People cannot be used for political power,” said Mabona.
Mashaba, who struggled to calm the crowd, promised protesters that their concerns will be attended to.
Clr Mashaba agreed to meet with the protesters to address their concerns.
The EFF has defended its involvement in the matter and said it would defend exploited workers at all levels, regardless of their political affiliation.
