By Bernard Chiguvare (GroundUp) and Anton van Zyl
Hundreds of Makhado municipal workers brought the municipality's offices to a standstill on Tuesday, demanding that the appointment process for a new chief financial officer (CFO) be fair, transparent, and free from political interference.
Most of the workers are members of the South African Municipal Workers' Union (SAMWU) and the Independent Municipal Allied Trade Union (IMATU).
Workers gathered from 07:00 but left to have breakfast. When they returned after 09:00, several residents complained that they had been turned away as municipal services were suspended due to the protest. Services such as refuse collection also did not take place.
According to the unions, the municipality's CFO position has been vacant for almost five years. They said interviews were held in March this year, but no appointment has been finalised. One of the candidates interviewed was Godfrey Raliphada, who has been acting in this position for roughly two years. The unions stated that Raliphada had scored the highest during the recruitment process, but a final decision was being delayed by some politicians who seemingly favoured another candidate.
"The candidate who scored the highest is the one who has been acting. As unions, we were part of the recruitment process. We are here to find out from the local municipality's political management team what is delaying [the appointment of] the CFO?" said Raymond Raduvha, Makhado secretary of SAMWU.
"The interview results are readily available. We demand the appointment of the permanent position of the CFO within 14 days," said Raduvha.
Emmanuel Mpho Mulaudzi Khorommbi, IMATU chairperson, said workers were questioning the political interference with the appointment of the CFO. "This is unlawful. Results of the March interviews should be respected."
Among the politicians whom union leaders say are interfering with the CFO appointment is the controversial MEC for Transport and Community Safety, Florence Radzilani, who also serves as the deputy chairperson of the ANC in the province and secretary of the Vhembe region.
Union spokespersons said that on Friday last week, Radzilani, in her capacity as the deputy chairperson in Limpopo, had met with the Vhembe regional secretary of the ANC. The regional secretary then visited Makhado municipality and addressed the ANC councillors, claiming that the results of the March interviews had been manipulated.
But Radzilani's media liaison officer, Vongani Chauke, denied the claim. "MEC Radzilani is not part of Makhado municipality and doesn't participate in the council meetings," said Chauke.
Mayor Samuel Munyai came out to address the protesters and then left for a meeting. Municipal spokesperson Louis Bobodi said the mayor would respond to the unions within two weeks.
On Wednesday, the Democratic Alliance (DA) released a statement saying that the party would write a formal letter to the municipal manager, Mr. Kent Nemaname, requesting an investigation into the reason behind the strike.
"We were reliably informed that the ANC regional secretary and [her] cadres decided to appoint Ms. Thanga Vhuelelo, the current chief financial officer at Vhembe District Municipality, as the CFO at Makhado Municipality from 1 November 2023," the DA's Makhado councillor Glenda Furemele said.
Furemele said that Ms. Vhuelelo had a "less than impressive" track record at the embattled Vhembe District Municipality (VDM). The VDM is considered to be one of the most dysfunctional municipalities in the district and received yet another qualified report last year from the auditor-general (AG).
In the AG's latest report on VDM, she complains about a total of R644 million that was spent where management had ignored supply-chain-management regulations or simply splashed money on expenses that were not budgeted for. The VDM's billing system is in a complete state of disarray, and apart from that, more than half the water being distributed gets "lost" in the distribution network.