Orlando Chauke
LIMPOPO – The ANC in Limpopo has intervened to defuse tension between employer and employees after a week of sit-ins by the Greater Giyani Municipality employees over the delay of the appointment of a municipal manager.
The employees stated it was unacceptable to have people acting in the vital position for the past year as it compromised service delivery.
However, after a week of total shutdown of services by employees, the municipality managed to convince them to go back to work after agreeing to hold a special council sitting to deliberate on the situation.
At this special council meeting held on Friday the provincial ANC sent an instruction that the post of municipal manager be readvertised.
It also instructed that, in the interim, the Department of Cooperative Government, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs will send a candidate from provincial level to act in the position until a suitable candidate was employed.
The outcome of this special council was a victory to the opposition parties, especially the DA, which has since last year been questioning and pressuring the municipality about the filling of the position.
“The municipality has been giving us the excuse that they could not find a suitable candidate all this while,” commented DA councillor, Hasani Shibambu, after the sitting.
“What was surprising though, is how the municipality could shortlist candidates and then dump them on the grounds that they were not suitable,” he continued, adding he hoped the municipality will now fill the post.
Greater Giyani Mayor, Pat Hlungwani, said the compromise was enough to get employees working again.
“We are meeting the employees halfway,” he explained.
The strike by the Greater Giyani Municipality employees occurred at the same time as that of Mopani District Municipality, which made the situation even worse for the residents due to a shutdown of water supply services by employees of the district municipality.
“I’m happy that everything has been sorted out now and we’re all back at work as normal,” Hlungwani said.
