Newly elected South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) boss Nkhetheni Muthavhi has accused politicians of undermining municipal employees by favouring outsourced services from which they benefit.
Muthavhi told the Sunday Times this week that while society may perceive municipal workers as lazy, it is politicians who prefer outsourcing because they get a kickback from private contractors.
He was elected president of Samwu in Mpumalanga this week. It is estimated that about 74% of unionised local government employees belong to the Cosatu-affiliated union.
Muthavhi added his voice to growing calls for municipalities to abandon the tender system, saying that it undermines the role of municipal workers while enabling corruption to fester.
“You can hear what is happening at the Madlanga commission. People are rigging tenders,” he said during a wide-ranging interview.
“Our resolution is that there should be a remunicipalisation of municipal services. We must do away with the tender system. In the majority of municipalities, most of the work is being outsourced even though workers are already employed, so there is a duplication.
We need to stop outsourcing so that all the work can be done internally. Why should grass cutting be done by a private company? The issue is corruption, mismanagement and the kickbacks that people want, which is why they insist on contracting these services
— Nkhetheni Muthavhi, Samwu boss
“Municipalities prefer private contractors over their own workers. That’s why there is no response to the need for services — you will find workers sleeping under a tree during the day, and people say municipal workers are lazy. But what must they do when the work is taken away from them because people want to give their friends tenders?”
Muthavhi warned that contracting private companies to deliver services was an unnecessary expense ultimately borne by residents.
“We need to stop outsourcing so that all the work can be done internally,” he said. “Why should grass cutting be done by a private company? The issue is corruption, mismanagement and the kickbacks that people want, which is why they insist on contracting these services.”
He argued that the perception of worker incompetence was manufactured to justify outsourcing.
“Sometimes our members are employed without being given the necessary tools. We are being disempowered so that we look weak, and then contractors are brought in as if they can deliver what municipalities cannot.”
Muthavhi also called for an overhaul of legislation governing municipal finances, saying excessive red tape hampers efficiency.
“We need to relook at the Municipal Finance Management Act. In municipalities, if you want to buy a grass-cutting machine, you need three quotations — you can’t simply go to Makro or a manufacturer and buy it. The tender process delays getting resources. Our laws are becoming an impediment to transformation and service delivery.”
The system is rotten. You can have billions of rands, but if they are mismanaged the crisis will persist. Instead of addressing the root cause, municipal workers are being blamed
— Muthavhi
The Samwu leader dismissed calls for municipal workers to moderate wage demands in light of strained municipal coffers.
“Those views are misplaced. The auditor-general consistently flags huge sums of money which should have gone to service delivery and salaries being squandered. The issue is not a lack of money or austerity — it is how finances are managed.
“The system is rotten. You can have billions of rands, but if they are mismanaged the crisis will persist. Instead of addressing the root cause, municipal workers are being blamed.
“We are not the scapegoat. If this continues, municipalities will be privatised and will fail to fulfil their constitutional mandate.”
Muthavhi said his tenure would see the union adopting a more professional approach.
“The face of the union is changing. It is very professional — for example, the national treasurer of the union is a qualified accountant. We can’t organise as if we are still in the 1980s; we must move with the times.”
He added that municipal unions need to recalibrate their mandate and refocus on their purpose.
“We concentrate on labour relations — representing workers in disciplinary matters and unfair labour practices — but we have forgotten why the union exists. We are a by-product of municipalities. We need disciplined people who can deliver, because it is important to provide quality public services.”
Muthavhi was elected Samwu president at a largely uncontested elective congress. The only contested position was that of deputy general secretary — a position he held prior to the congress.
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