The DA in Ekurhuleni is concerned that the City of Ekurhuleni is losing the battle against illegal land and building use as posts in the city planning and building inspectorate remain vacant.
Inspectorate personnel are critical to ensuring compliance with city planning by-laws and building regulations.
According to Heather Hart, DA spokesperson for city planning in Ekurhuleni, the department has over 60 funded vacancies, putting undue pressure on existing staff and leaving the metro at the mercy of residents and developers who either do not know the relevant legislation or deliberately ignore them in the knowledge that there will be no repercussions.
“While the MMC of city planning, Clr Masele Madihlaba, is fully aware of the impact of illegal land use, illegal buildings and illegal outdoor advertising, it is dependent upon the city’s human resources department to not only speed up its current audit on metro staff to eradicate ghost posts and for the city manager, Dr Imogen Mashazi, to unfreeze recruitment of funded vacant positions.
“Efforts by the DA’s city planning oversight committee to get these posts unfrozen has been met with ongoing resistance, while positions have been filled within the mayor’s office, the mayoral committee members’ offices and even that of the city manager,” Hart said.
At the time of publishing, the metro has not responded to Kempton Express’ queries.
