MATSAPHA PROBE: DRIVER PAID FOR LOITERING FOR 8YRS

MATSAPHA – Ratepayers of Matsapha will learn with shock that thousands of Emalangeni which they paid had been ‘poured down the drain’.
This is because for the past eight years, a council employee was allegedly being paid for doing absolutely nothing.

This was revealed by Bongani Mkhabela, who is employed as a driver.
He made his submission in the ongoing commission of inquiry into the affairs of Matsapha Town Council. It is worth noting that Mkhabela is also the chairperson of the National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU) shop-stewards in Matsapha Town Council.

Engineering

He alleged that during the year 2011, the Engineering Department supervisor allegedly approached the office of the town engineer and submitted that they could not work properly, as Mkhabela allegedly spent most of his time busy with union activities.
“Thereafter, I was served with a letter which basically highlighted the concern that I was busy with union work,” he claimed.

After that, Mkhabela alleged that the car he was driving was taken from him and was allegedly told to continue doing union work. He claimed that he then wrote a letter to the former Town Clerk, Gciniwe Fakudze, where he allegedly asked her to facilitate a process of giving him back the car, so that he could carry out his duties.   

Mkhabela alleged that the correspondence he got from Fakudze was that the employer had powers to use its discretion and decide who was to be given what kind of working tool.

He submitted that from there, he had been reporting to work just to loiter around but at the end of each month, he was fully paid.

Bonuses

“The only concern is that there are no appraisals and performance bonuses,” he added.
Mkhabela said according to his analysis, he was allegedly being victimised for being a unionist, something which he was proud of.
He also did not deny that sometimes he would attend to official union business whenever there was a need.
The submissions made before the inquiry remain allegations as their veracity is yet to be tested.
On another note, Mkhabela alleged that the industrial relation environment at Matsapha Town Council was not fair. He noted that it allegedly happens that staff members in the same grade would get different salaries.

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