SAMWU calls for calm amongst its members in Mogalakwena and Lephalale Local Municipalities

19 October 2022

SAMWU calls for calm amongst its members in Mogalakwena and Lephalale Local Municipalities

The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) has noted the unpleasant events surrounding both Mogalakwena and Lephalale Local Municipalities under the Waterberg District. The union is worried, pained and overly disappointed by these events’ impact on moral wellbeing of municipal workers who are witnessing this sorry situation and the general collapse in service delivery.

This is against the backdrop of both Mogalakwena and Lephalale Local Municipalities which were won by the ANC with excellent majorities that turned the very ANC into an opposition by both commission and omission.

In Mogalakewna Municipality, the ANC Councillors turned themselves into opposition by appointing and continuing to defend an appointment of a Municipal Manager who cannot be is not a fit and proper person to be appointed for such a position. This Municipal Manager is the same individual who was responsible for depositing over R50 million into the now defunct VBS Mutual Bank against National Treasury regulations.

In Lephalale, the ANC Councillors continue to tear themselves and each other apart in defence of a Mayor who cannot be a fit and proper person to be appointed for such a position and have submitted and substituted themselves to become an opposition by dismissing each other from a council meeting that voted into power a DA Mayor.

It should be remembered that municipal workers are by their very nature and existence not immune from the effects of such political shocks happening in all our municipalities because workers are both the providers and recipients of services delivered by themselves.

SAMWU considers this sorry state of affairs in a very serious light and calls on all its members and municipal workers, in general, to be vigilant at all material times and not be absorbed into inter as well as intra-political scheming and infighting that do not have anything to do with service delivery.

All SAMWU members should brace themselves for bigger shocks and develop coping and resilient strategies In Limpopo and South Africa because the era of single- or one-party ANC political dominance in the local government sector is fast fading away making space for fragile inter-political alliances, allegiances and coalitions which have become the norm in many municipalities in the country.

All the above is happening because of ANC intra-political squabbles, mismanagement, and bad leadership in Limpopo whilst in the rest of South Africa, is partly due to voter disillusionment with ANC governance and voter consciousness of its rights and responsibilities including the right not to vote which lead to voter apathy.

The saddest thing is that the ANC has made a commitment to the people of South Africa that it shall isolate and root out corrupt tendencies in the public and private sectors whilst a recent Auditor’s general report also confirms the impact of R1,2 Billion loss by municipalities to corruption and malfeasance but remains stone silent on this matter.

SAMWU call on all its members in Mogalakwena, Lephalale, Limpopo and South Africa in general and the working class, in particular, to be extra vigilant and work together to build a broad front to campaign against this class-collaborationist malfeasance and revolutionary setback. We further call on the ANC to do a thorough self-introspection and correct the mistakes and blunders that the party, through its representatives continue to make, otherwise, the party will kiss goodbye forever to governance in the country within a short period of time.

Issued by SAMWU Limpopo

Patrick Aphane
Provincial Secretary
078 403 5015

Or

Nditsheni Mufamadi
Deputy Provincial Secretary
071 607 4391