Unionists want PSJ municipal boss fired

A thick pall of noxious black smoke hovered above Port St Johns yesterday as angry municipal workers set up a blockade of burning tyres and trees across the town’s main entrance road.

Traffic on Umzumvubu Drive was backed up for nearly 2km at the entrance of the agriculture and tourism town. Commuters were alighting from their taxis and walking around the crackling barrier of flames.

Protesting municipal workers, who are the members of the SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu), said they were demanding the removal of Port St Johns municipal manager Ngamela Pakade.

Samwu PSJ local secretary Andile Bara said Pakade’s contract expired in August and although council had resolved to extend it, he had not yet received an appointment letter from the mayor, Lindelwa Rolobile, or a letter of concurrence from Eastern Cape local government and traditional affairs MEC Fikile Xasa.

“That person is not a municipal manager but he is there doing the work that a municipal manager is supposed to do,” said Bara.

“And now he is busy issuing letters of suspension to workers.”

Bara said as many as 10 employees had received letters from Pakade recently notifying them of his intent to suspend them, but workers did not know what charges they were facing.

Other accusations against Pakade include:

lFailing to act after R2-million was swindled from municipal coffers, despite being in possession of a report about the crime;

lAbuse of the Municipal Finance Management Act by appointing and paying R1.5-million to a private company to carry out a community survey;

lIssuing a tender to a company that did not have a tax clearance certificate;

lAppointing a consulting firm to develop a concept document for the town which had cost the municipality

R7-million; and

lEmploying 25 personal bodyguards at the municipality’s expense.

Bara said they were also demanding the removal of council speaker Thandisizwe Kukula, chief whip Bulelwa Nokanda and corporate services manager Fundisile Guleni.

They said Kukula had convened a council meeting which endorsed Pakade’s contract extension while Guleni had misused municipal funds by hiring 40 security guards from two private companies to guard the municipal premises.

The Dispatch was unable to reach Pakade, Nokanda, Kukula or Guleni for comment at the time of writing yesterday.

However, mayor Rolobile confirmed that the council had resolved to extend Pakade’s contract and had written to Xasa’s office about it. A response from the MEC’s office had not yet been received.

On the other issues raised by the workers, the mayor said she had asked the protesters to bring her a list but she had yet to receive anything in writing. — sikhon@dispatch.co.za