The Westonaria Local Municipality hit back after accusations of nepotism in their office, stating that correct procedures were followed in hiring new staff members and no preferential treatment was given to anyone’s family members.
This follows an article published in the Herald on 26 July in which a local resident revealed that people within the municipality hired their relatives to fill positions recently advertised, saying that they were not even considered and that over 300 CVs were destroyed.
Owing to this, residents were up in arms and threatened to stage a massive protest action at the municipal building to make their wrath felt.
According to Westonaria municipal spokesperson Kgabane Madiehe, this is far from the truth and is nothing but false allegations.
“Exactly 18 posts were advertised on the municipality’s notice boards.
“We then received 323 applications for general workers vacancies and all due processes were followed
“The council complied with its recruitment policy where candidates were short-listed and successful candidates selected,” says Madiehe.
He adds that the responsibility for the appointment of all other personnel rests with the Municipal Manager.
“I believe that the relevant department continuously follows the correct procedure in hiring staff.
“We therefore rubbish the claims that the municipality practices nepotism and challenge the complainant to come forward with concrete evidence with regard to the allegations levelled against us,” says Madiehe.
