The South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) in the North West has threatened legal action against the Lichtenburg-based Ditsobotla Local Municipality, accusing it of corruption.
This after it failed to pay workers’ pension fund contribution over the past two years despite deducting the money from workers’ salaries monthly.
The municipality has been placed under several unsuccessful interventions by the government, and is notorious for its widely reported maladministration, failure to deliver services, instability and infightings involving councillors and workers.
Speaking on YOU FM Newshour, the union’s provincial Secretary Vincent Diphoko said that the municipality which was placed under national cabinet intervention in September last year has conceded to the allegations.
“It was confirmed to us by the national team deployed to the municipality together with the Municipal Manager that worker’s pension fund contributions are in arrears.
They confirmed that the municipality was unable to pay the funds in the past 24 months,” said Diphoko.
The Secretary said that although the municipality is not bankrupt, it is battling with financial difficulties.
“Hence it has written to the national and provincial treasury requesting financial intervention on some outstanding benefits,” added Diphoko.
SAMWU said that it will engage its national leadership to possibly enrol the services of a legal firm to challenge the matter in court.
“We have opened several cases of corruption against three municipalities before, but to this day we have no idea what happened to those cases.
We have opened a corruption case against following local municipalities Tswaing in Delareyville, Kgetlengrivier in Koster and Naledi in Vryburg but we are still in the dark as to what happened to those cases, hence we believe if a case is opened by a legal professional there would be some kind of a breakthrough on the matter,” Diphoko explained.
Meanwhile, the union is expected to meet with representatives of the national cabinet intervention team and the municipal manager over this matter on Thursday in Lichtenburg.
