Thulasizwe Buthelezi.
The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) is spitting fire after Zululand District Municipality mayor Thulasizwe Buthelezi gave seven municipal employees their marching orders.
“The mayor is going around sniffing people because of their political affiliation and firing them without due process,” said ANC KZN spokesperson Nhlakanipho Ntombela.
Buthelezi reportedly ordered 34 senior managers to submit their qualifications for verification.
That led to the discovery of five senior managers who did not have the relevant qualifications for their roles and another two do not have post-matric qualifications, according to a TimesLIVE report.
Buthelezi then said “consequence management” would be instituted upon those employees, ahead of their posts being advertised.
The vacant positions are:
“We have been inundated with a number of reports wherein staff members have been suspended and dismissed simply because they were campaigning for other political parties during the recent past local elections,” said Ntombela.
“The ANC in KZN wishes to warn the mayor of Zululand that he is not an executive Mayor who will do as he wishes with the municipality as if it’s his fiefdom.”
The ANC is arguing that only the council can authorise a skills audit in the municipality.
“No mayor, on his own lunacy, can decide such wanton acts and dismiss people without a hearing,” said Ntombela.
“There are laws in this country which must be respected by all citizens including [the] Zululand mayor. The municipality is not a kangaroo court where you can sit under the tree and decide on the fate of its employees without a due process.”
The party is now calling on labour unions to intervene in Zululand.
The Zululand dispute comes after the Hawks arrested a 34-year-old aspirant municipal manager in Free State for submitting fake qualifications during the application process.
Compiled by Narissa Subramoney
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