Sithembiso Ngema Cllr – DA EThekwini Councillor
Note to the Editors and journalists: The audio recording will be available on request.
The Democratic Alliance in EThekwini has written to the KZN Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) MEC, Sipho Hlomuka, to raise concerns about the political interference relating to the hiring of workers for the Umlazi Durban Solid Waste (DSW) project.
Residents of Umlazi were made to live in filthy streets and uncollected garbage as the city failed to manage contractors who had been hired to do the job. After numerous consultations between city management and political heads, consensus was reached that the garbage collection project would be insourced, and local residents employed. This decision was well received by the community.
However, with the ANC being a party of lies and deceit, the DA got hold of a recording in which senior ANC councilors can be heard addressing former City Manager, Sipho Nzuza, on the process to be followed for the Umlazi garbage project.
In the recording, Cllr Nelly Manyisa, former Chief Whip of the ANC Caucus in eThekwini, can be heard asking that councillors provide a list of Umlazi residents that would be prioritised for employment. She further added that if more people were required then the process can be opened to the public. This after they had reassured the public that the process would be open and fair for everyone.
The DA is not surprised by this underhanded dealing by the ANC. The ANC will stop at nothing to use the plight of the unemployed to obtain political mileage at the expense of fairness and access to opportunities. In enforcing its cadre deployment policy, the ANC has all but confirmed that it only cares about itself and not the poor.
Political interference in Human Resource processes is not only a serious offence but an insult to the people of EThekwini. As we speak, the unemployment rate in EThekwini stands at a whopping 21.9%. This is simply unacceptable considering the potential that the metro has to create jobs. EThekwini Municipality has been crippled by the corrupt ANC in their quest to enrich themselves and the connected elite while the people are left to suffer.
The DA calls for the city to make use of its Community Participation Unit and the Umlazi Sizakala Centre as hubs to recruit eligible candidates. Allowing politicians to meddle in the process will create unrest in the community.
The DA will continue the fight for a free, fair and just society where the deserving are prioritized. EThekwini Municipality deserves better, and ours is to continue the fight for a prosperous and united city for all.