Greater Tzaneen municipality hires ‘bouncers’ to stop disruptions

A Limpopo local municipality has been criticised for appointing a second security company after a spate of attacks and disruptions of council meetings in recent weeks.

The Greater Tzaneen Local Municipality in the Mopani region has appointed a security company that uses bouncers to try to stop the ongoing disruptions. The company was appointed last week at a cost of R700,000 to provide a high-level security at the municipal offices for a period of a month.

The municipality has another security company providing that service already. According to the municipal records, the company forks out nearly R1 million a month for this service.

“This municipality is currently paying two salaries, for NBS and Ulwazi. Two salaries of nearly R2 million a month. This is in spite of the fact that Tzaneen faces a backlog of basic services,” said an angry councillor from the municipality, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.

“Between this and last week, our municipality has been attacked thrice by unruly people,” said municipal spokesperson Nevil Ndlala last week. He said the appointment was made after council sittings turned into boxing matches.

“That is why the municipality saw a need to appoint another company to restore peace during our meetings and within our premises before more damage is done,” he said.

Last week a group of service providers forcefully entered municipal buildings and disrupted a special council sitting in a push to force the municipality to honour unpaid invoices. During the scuffle, some senior managers were called names and spat at, while others were beaten up.

On Friday, a high-level meeting of a delegation from the National Council of Provinces and municipal mayors and managers was disrupted by service providers demanding payment for work done on a road project.

The appointment of the new security company has, however, been referred to by the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) as unconstitutional and a contravention of the supply chain management policies.

“How can the municipality appoint a second security company while there is another company doing the same job. “Who is going to pay the second company because from where I am sitting there is no budget. How was the company appointed in the first place because there was no council resolution,” said Samwu municipal secretary Peter Modika yesterday.

Samwu sub-region chairperson Moses Malatji said it was amazing that the NCOP sitting had still been disrupted in the presence of the guards.

“The question on everyone’s lips is how do people get past the bouncers and disrupt such a high level meeting of prominent government people?

“The second question is was it even necessary to appoint the second company? Maybe we will need answers as to whether the company underwent risk assessments or was just handpicked,“ he said.

Both the Economic Freedom Fighters and the Democratic Alliance in the province branded the second security company appointment as a waste of taxpayers money.

– alexm@citizen.co.za

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