eThekwini ‘shocked’ after ‘intoxicated’ employee caught sleeping in municipal vehicle

The eThekwini Municipality said it is “shocked and appalled” after a viral video on social media showed a seemingly drunk municipal employee sleeping in one of its cars in a shopping centre parking lot.

The municipality said it has opened an internal investigation after the video emerged.

The video was filmed on Friday afternoon by a concerned citizen. The man behind the camera said it was at the Watercrest Shopping Mall in Kloof.

Municipal employee sleeping with open beer bottle

The man highlights how the employee is sleeping in the municipal bakkie, with the door open and the keys still in the ignition. “Not a trouble in the world,” the man says about the sleeping government employee.

An open beer bottle can also be seen in the vehicle, which has the branding of the eThekwini’s park division.

Watch: eThekwini employee sleeps in municipal car

The man filming the incident also notes that the car is not parked well and says it may be because the employee was “driving the vehicle intoxicated”.

ALSO READ: eThekwini Municipality suspends officials linked to R17m fraud

In a statement, eThekwini Municipality said City Manager Musa Mbhele has stressed that service delivery is an apex priority and the abuse of municipal resources will not be accepted.

It added that the vehicle seen in the video is now safely parked in the Parks depot.

“However, as a matter of principle, the Municipality does not discuss internal investigations and does not discuss employer-employee related matters with a third party.”

Sergeant caught using police car to buy grain

Durban was also the scene of another incident of state recourses being abused this week.

A policeman is in hot water after he was caught on camera using a police vehicle to buy bags of grain.

The video also went viral on social media.

It shows the police member buying grain while he was on duty. The policeman can be seen opening the back of his van before another man starts loading the bags into the state vehicle. 

An investigation has since been launched into the policeman, who belongs to the Durban Harbour division.

ALSO READ: WATCH: Police sergeant investigated for using state vehicle for personal use