Pretoria - Talks are under way among political parties in Tshwane to topple the DA-led multiparty coalition under mayor Randall Williams.
This was unveiled yesterday by the ANC in Tshwane, which briefed the media about the state of the coalition in the metro.
The party painted a picture of a disastrous financial situation in Tshwane, predicting that the metro would not be able to pay workers’ salaries at the end of November.
ANC regional chairperson Eugene “Bonzo” Modise said the metro was in “financial crisis”, citing the late payments of staff salaries in September as an example. The party blamed the City’s lack of money for late payments despite the fact that Absa, in its correspondence to the City, said the late payments were due to “a technical issue on September 24, 2022, which resulted in certain payments not being processed timeously”.
Party deputy chairperson France Boshielo said: “As the ANC caucus we believe that the late payments were not as a result of a technical glitch. The late payment was as a result of lack of money in the bank.”
He said come the end of November the City won’t be able to afford to make double payments to workers, which include annual bonuses.
While the party disclosed that it was holding talks with other parties, it remained mum on the names of the political parties it was engaging with.
Tshwane ANC secretary George Matjila said the party was engaging with “all parties in council because our thinking is that we all represent the interest of the people on the ground”.
According to him, the problems in Tshwane continued to pile up and were compounded by the fact that workers in the City had not been paid on time.ANC caucus chief whip Aaron Maluleka said the party was not desperate to occupy the seat of government, but it “can’t fold arms when the city is on the verge of collapse”.
He said the talks with other parties were taking place in the context of forming “a replacement of what we are currently having”.
According to him, the ANC has been having consultations with communities on service delivery and “people are saying that they want an alternative government”.
Highlighting the City’s financial problems, Modise said grant money was used by the city to pay salaries instead of providing services to communities. “Salaries were not paid on time and this has led to financial penalties for workers who are facing difficulties. Some workers’ salaries are still outstanding as we speak to you today,” he said.
He lamented the fact that the City refused to pay a 3.5% collective agreement increment to municipal workers.
The dispute over the salary increase is currently at the Labour Court.
Modise said: “The Eskom unpaid debt has bulged due to charges and not direct consumption from consumers. We have incurred interest for late payments and defaulting.”
He said the ANC would soon keep Tshwane residents abreast of “developments of the looming change of the guard at Tshwane House”.
Pretoria News