Further investigations have been undertaken to avert mass protest
|||DURBAN will not be grinding to a halt just yet after the eThekwini municipality executive committee yesterday mandated city manager S’bu Sithole to investigate grievances of protesting metro police officers.
The decision was taken during a closed meeting, said municipal spokesman Thabo Mofokeng.
“The city manager has been tasked with leading the investigation and he will elect a task team consisting of city administrators who will assist with the investigation,” he added.
The move to appoint a task team comes after metro officers, who downed tools on Thursday, threatened to embark on a “mass action” protest if their demands are not met.
On Thursday, hundreds of disgruntled officers, who are members of the SA Municipal Workers Union (Samwu), marched to Durban City Hall and handed over their memorandum to Mayor James Nxumalo.
High on the list of their demands was the sacking of Metro head Eugene Nzama or that he be reassigned to another department. They also wanted to see the city rooting out corruption, mismanagement, nepotism and gross inequality which they say has plagued the force.
One of the accusations levelled against Nzama contained in the memorandum is the alleged misuse of municipality vehicles.
Samwu provincial secretary Jaycee Ncanana said they also wanted the city to investigate the qualifications of Rajen Chin, head of the metro police’s specialised units.
Late last month, former eThekwini municipal manager Michael Sutcliffe suspended Chin and promised to start an investigation, which the marchers said had not commenced.
Ncanana said while the union welcomed the investigation, he would not rule out the possibility of officers downing tools indefinitely if the investigation does not yield the desired outcome.
If the officers end up embarking on a strike, it would be a first for Durban because essential workers, including metro police, are legally required to work during a strike.
This would mean few or no metro officers patrolling the streets, or enforcing law and order.
“If our demands are still not met after this investigation then we will not hesitate to embark on a programme of mass action because it would mean that’s the only language the employer understands,” he said.
While Mofokeng would not give a deadline for the completion of the investigation, he said it would receive priority.
“Once the investigation has been completed the municipal manager will then report back to the executive committee who will then take a decision regarding the grievances,” he said. - Independent on Saturday