The Johannesburg Multi-Party Government (MPG) has noted reckless and baseless statements made by unions and political parties that seek to distract the public from the facts surrounding the former Mayoral Committee’s illegal contract conversion of senior City of Johannesburg personnel attached to political offices.

In the public interest, herewith the facts:

1. We are not dealing with a political or labour matter but one of compliance with the law that was flouted when the former Mayoral Committee adopted a report, without Council’s approval, to convert the fixed-term contracts of senior staff attached to political offices.

At a projected cost of at least R80-million per annum, it would not only be costly for the City to turn a blind-eye to the irregular employment of 130 (and growing) staff but it would be a violation of both the Municipal Systems Act and the Municipal Finance Management Act; laws both the Council and its employees are bound by.

To add further, the continued irregular employment of the political staff cripples the ability of the new administration to hire staff who share the same values as the government of the day, which will have far reaching implications for good governance and service delivery objectives as mandated by the electoral outcome.

2. None of the staff who have been served with notices to regularise (return their contract to their original form) their employment are part of the City’s administrative functions. Instead, they were appointed and contracted at a senior level to serve political offices linked to the term of office of the elected politician they were attached to.

3. It is incorrect to state that staff are being dismissed, fired or having their contracts terminated. Their contracts have been regularised and their contracts will run their course, coming to an end at the end of April 2022.

It is accepted and prudent practice that staff serving in political offices are employed on a fixed-term basis linked to the term office they are attached to. This will be confirmed by a COGTA regulation, which will come into effect in the middle of this year.

JMPD Security Officers who served the notices of regularisation did so with respect and without aggression. Despite allegations of intimidation, we have not received any formal complaints, on the contrary 61 employees refused to cooperate with the Security Officials of JMPD and sign for and accept their notices of regularisation.

4. On Friday, the City received correspondence from the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) and legal representatives of the 130 staff begging our indulgence as they consulted their members and clients. As such, the Acting City Manager in consultation with the City’s Legal Department, decided to suspend the delivery of outstanding notices until Wednesday, 9 March 2022, given the emotional nature of this matter.

We therefore find it curious and disingenuous of SAMWU to choose to “outline the course of action that will be taken” through a media briefing rather than through the established and functional channel they used to seek and receive compassion from the City and the Multi-Party Government.

5. Backed by legal opinion and the law, the City and the Multi-Government are confident that we are acting lawfully to reverse an unlawful act.

6. There is no ‘political witch hunt’ targeting a particular group of people. At no point has political affiliation or ideology played a role in this process. Frankly, who City employees vote for or associate with politically is irrelevant, even in a political office.

In the face of deliberate mistruths being peddled, the City and Multi-Party Government have stuck to the factual and legal parameters of this matter with the aim of it reaching its natural conclusion.

It is worth questioning why the lawful decision of the Council and Multi-Party Government is being challenged politically and in the media but not before the courts of law as it is generally the practice. We must question why those who are confident that the decision was unlawful are not prepared to place any facts before the Council itself and the courts of our land?

Furthermore, if the former Mayoral Committee acted lawfully and above-board, why was the report not brought to Council; why was the City’s Legal Department not a signatory to the report; and why was no legal opinion sought, all of which are standard practices?

These questions will be answered by the Council-sanctioned investigation into this matter.

Realising their looming electoral misfortunes, the former Mayoral Committee engineered a scheme to permanently capture the City’s political offices with no regard for the monetary and personal cost; and the adverse effect it would have on service delivery.

Ends

For media queries, please contact:
 
Mabine Seabe
Director: Mayoral Communication
Private Office of the Executive Mayor
0846777851

08/03/2022