SAMWU Welcomes Court Ruling on Salaries, Condemns MEC Buthelezi’s Ill-Conceived Claims and Unlawful Intervention in uMkhanyakude
4 August 2025
SAMWU Welcomes Court Ruling on Salaries, Condemns MEC Buthelezi’s Ill-Conceived Claims and Unlawful Intervention in uMkhanyakude
The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) in the Shonamalanga Region notes and welcomes the court ruling that has compelled the uMkhanyakude District Municipality to pay workers’ salaries. This judgment, issued in the matter with case number 202-127109, comes as a direct result of SAMWU having to approach the courts following the municipality’s failure to comply with its statutory obligation to pay employees on time. For SAMWU, this is a significant victory for our members who were denied their remuneration despite having worked for the employer. It is, however, a profound pity that this victory for workers’ dignity and rights had to be secured through legal action.
Following this order, we have noted with serious concern that the MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs in KwaZulu-Natal, Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi, has sought to claim victory for an order in which he is listed as a defendant. We would like to remind Reverend Buthelezi that when workers faced uncertainty over the non-payment of their salaries, he and his department were folding their arms; in fact, they are complicit in sending these workers to hunger, poverty, and starvation. We would like to remind Reverend Buthelezi of Amílcar Cabral’s teaching that “Tell no lies, claim no easy victories.”
Of equal concern is Reverend Buthelezi’s claim that this court order somehow affirms his ill-conceived appointment of Mr. Bamba Ndwandwe as an administrator in the municipality. This cannot be further from the truth. The judgment simply mandates that the First Respondent, uMkhanyakude District Municipality, and the Fourth Respondent, Bamba Ndwandwe, must ensure that remuneration is paid. Reverend Buthelezi has clearly not read the judgment or his advisors have misled him. It appears the MEC is hell-bent on forcing the administrator down the throats of workers and the municipality, regardless of the consequences.
The human cost of this financial mismanagement is unacceptable. Mr. Ndwandwe’s actions of freezing the account at the crucial time when employees were due to receive their salaries is a clear indication of a perpetuated abuse of power on his part under the guise of a Section 139(1)(b) intervention. We firmly believe that these actions were a result of a well-calculated move on his part, supported by COGTA, to frustrate the majority of SAMWU members in this municipality.
As SAMWU, we are not necessarily opposed to interventions in aligning municipalities, we, however, take a dim view when interventions are made for political expediency. We have previously indicated that Mr. Bamba Ndwandwe’s continued presence in the municipality is the root cause of the challenges that the municipality continues to face. If Reverend Buthelezi and KwaZulu-Natal COGTA are genuinely interested in saving the municipality, they would do so without political motives. We actually challenge Reverend Buthelezi to count, on one hand, the municipalities that his department has intervened in through Section 139 that have since improved. To us, it appears as though the KwaZulu-Natal COGTA is comfortable with plunging municipalities further into challenges.
The court’s directive represents a vital step in upholding the rights and dignity of municipal workers, as enshrined in the Basic Conditions of Employment Act. We expect all respondents to comply with the court’s order without delay. The order specifies that salaries for July 2025 must be paid no later than 5 August 2025 , and for future months, they will be paid on the 25th day of each month.
While we are waiting for the reserved judgment on the main case against COGTA and Mr. Ndwandwe, SAMWU and its legal team will be monitoring the situation in this municipality. We remain hopeful that the uMkhanyakude community will continue to receive the services they have been receiving from the current administration, with the sole aim of changing their livelihoods for the better.
Issued by SAMWU Shonamalanga Region
Zandile Gumede
Regional Secretary
0812842591
or
Zethu Fakude
Deputy Regional Secretary
0635092924