ANC bosses in Calata House have instructed Buffalo City Metro politicians and its top management to urgently fill all vacant positions within the community services directorate.
“We can’t have a metro where there is no director for community services, nor a general manager. This cannot be allowed to continue while BCM streets are in such a poor state. We have senior people in this directorate all acting in these positions,” ANC provincial chair Oscar Mabuyane said. He said the vacancies had not been filled for years.
Mabuyane spoke to the Daily Dispatch on Wednesday, a few hours after he summoned Samwu and the troika, including mayor Xola Pakati, deputy mayor Zoleka Matana and municipal manager Andile Sihlahla, under one roof. That meeting paved the way for negotiations between labour and the city – with the metro offering R10,000 to each worker to end the strike.
The strike started a few days after ANC provincial leaders instructed Pakati to reshuffle his mayoral committee. This saw councillor Nontsikelelo Peter being moved to community services while Helen Neale-May was moved to finance. Mabuyane said these changes should have yielded positive results.
Mabuyane said BCM management had itself to blame for the chaos because they had been “resting on their laurels”.
“If you postpone taking critical decisions, then you have a problem. The issue of job evaluation in BCM is a discussion which started in 2002. Even the current mayor joined in [2016] while these discussions were ongoing.”..