She warned that the municipality will not hesitate to take action if anyone was found to be neglecting their duties as public servants. The mayor was speaking during the formal introduction of the new municipal manager, Vusi Duncan Khoza. She took the opportunity to highlight unbecoming behaviour by some GGM employees, such as sitting outside during office hours.

She said that it weakens the municipality’s ability to effectively deliver services to the community. The mayor mentioned a few incidents in which she had to tell the acting municipal manager at the time to caution employees who were sitting outside during office hours. “This type of behaviour cannot be tolerated; we cannot have people that just come here to collect salaries and go home without doing their jobs because that’s not what we’re here for as public servants,” she said.

“The little money that you make as an EPWP worker helps you achieve a little more than you could without it. Therefore, you need to respect your job regardless of how low you may think of it because it does provide you with food on the table,” she continued. She said GGM does not consider political affiliation when it disciplines incompetent workers.

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“No matter who you think you are, or the position you have in your political party if you happen to be an employee of this municipality and you do not fulfill your commitment as a public servant, you will face disciplinary charges without hesitation regardless of which party you’re affiliated to,” she said. She also warned those plotting a protest against the new municipal manager, saying any illegally organised protest by employees outside the union would be dealt with accordingly.

“If you organise such a protest and we find out that you were involved, you will find yourself sitting at home jobless,” she said. She urged employees to tolerate each other for the sake of the smooth running of the municipality