SAMWU DEMANDS REAL SOLUTIONS, NOT SCAPEGOATING, FOR MANGAUNG METRO’S FINANCIAL FAILURES.
Date: 17 September 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SAMWU DEMANDS REAL SOLUTIONS, NOT SCAPEGOATING, FOR MANGAUNG METRO’S FINANCIAL FAILURES.
The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) in the Free State strongly rejects the recent public statement by City Manager Mr. Sello More regarding the proposed implementation of a new shift system. While the City Manager attempts to frame the shift system as a financially prudent and efficiency-driven solution, this narrative is both misleading and a gross oversimplification of the deep-rooted, systemic failures plaguing the municipality.
The assertion that excessive overtime is the central cause of the municipality’s financial difficulties is fundamentally false. The most recent audit outcomes from the Auditor-General of South Africa paint a clear picture of a far-reaching governance and financial crisis, not a problem of worker overtime. The audit reveals a third consecutive qualified audit opinion, a material deficit of R468 million, and staggering amounts of unauthorised (R1.8 billion), irregular (R278 million), and fruitless and wasteful (R130 million) expenditure. These figures, along with the under-utilisation of grants and a lack of investment in critical infrastructure, point to a crisis that cannot be attributed solely to employee overtime. To reduce these complex failures to a matter of worker costs is disingenuous and shifts blame away from the poor planning, leadership instability, and mismanagement that are the true source of the problem.
The City Manager’s call for a shift system also fails to acknowledge the severe staffing shortages that have plagued the municipality for years. The Auditor-General has explicitly highlighted high vacancy rates, especially in critical technical and operational posts. It is unclear how a shift system can be effectively implemented when there are not enough workers to fill the shifts. Workers are often forced to work extended hours to compensate for chronic understaffing and ensure essential services are rendered to residents. This is not an abuse of the system, but a necessity driven by the municipality’s failure to fill posts and implement a sustainable workforce strategy.
SAMWU supports legitimate efforts to reduce wasteful expenditure and improve service delivery. However, these efforts must be grounded in fairness, legality, and sound labour practices. SAMWU will oppose any measures that unilaterally impose new working conditions, violate existing collective agreements, or penalise workers while ignoring the municipality’s own financial and governance failures. We therefore call upon the Mangaung Metro Municipality to immediately halt the unilateral implementation of the shift system and engage in formal consultation with organised labour as prescribed by the Labour Relations Act. We also demand that the municipality address the high vacancy rate by urgently filling critical posts and investigate and act on the Auditor-General’s findings concerning wasteful expenditure.
We wish to place on record that SAMWU has exhausted all internal avenues for resolution. We have written several formal communications to the Mangaung Metro, held multiple engagements with administrative management, and met with political leadership in good faith. Despite our attempts to find a collaborative solution, the municipality has persisted in acting in bad faith, continuing to unilaterally implement measures in violation of both the Labour Relations Act and binding collective agreements.
It is only after these efforts proved fruitless that SAMWU reluctantly approached the courts to protect the rights and dignity of municipal workers. We reaffirm our readiness to engage constructively on matters of efficiency and financial sustainability, but we will not allow workers to be used as scapegoats for failures caused by poor leadership and mismanagement.
Issued by SAMWU Free State
Thabang Tseuo, Provincial Secretary (082 620 9160)
Sandla Mahlathi, Deputy Provincial Secretary (071 978 0310)