Lack of staff pushes ward councillors to take extreme measures
The proof of residence office of the municipality is under enormous strain because of the high number of vacant positions.
Ward councillors have been placed under enormous strain since Mogale City’s Local Municipality has no staff employed in certain offices.
One of the worst affected offices is the Proof of Residence section of the municipality.
The office was closed for three days due to high vacancy rates brought on by the expiry of some of the employees’ contracts. “I instructed the Municipal Speaker, Patrick Lipudi, not to renew these contracts. Instead he should have moved staff from another section of his office to the proof of residence office,” said Michael Holenstein, Executive Mayor of Mogale City. “Instead, the doors were closed.”
Zillah Wehinger-Maguire, councillor for Ward 39, said it was incredibly unfair that the public were unable to go to the office to get their proof of residence documents.
“Some of our people travelled from remote rural areas only to be confronted by a closed door,” said Zillah. “These residents struggle to get into town to obtain these documents as it is.
Taxi fare is not cheap, and they have to take time off work to get their documents.”
Residents need proof of residence documentation to open a bank account and some schools request it as well. Some residents don’t have landlords or municipal accounts to use as proof of residence.
One of the main reasons for the high vacancy rate is allegedly because it is the duty of the Municipal Speaker, Patrick Lipudi, to ensure there is sufficient staff in his office.
“Since the Speaker’s office has failed to move staff, the Mayor, instructed the municipal manager, Pringle Raedani, to step in and immediately place staff in this office to deal with the applications.”
He moved four people into positions on Friday, 19 May to ensure the section has enough staff to cope and the office was reopened.
However, ward councillors still have to find a way to get proof of residence documents for their constituents.
Zillah took a stack of blank proof of residency application forms to Plot 14 in Honeystone, Honingklip, and completed them while leaning on the bonnet of a car.
She was expecting to fill in about three or four applications, but ended up completing over 30 of them. A stack of ID documents were left waiting on the car bonnet as she needed to go back to her office and print more forms.
“I honestly did not mind completing so many proof of residence applications, as I am in the area daily. However, some people need their documents urgently and I am not always able to get to them on time because the ward is incredibly vast.”
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