LIMPOPO – The public participation event held by the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) at Philadelphia Church in Giyani on Monday ended prematurely after community members demanded clarity on the recruitment process used to hire the workers who are currently working on site.

Accusations of secrecy spark uproar

The event, which was meant to allow the Giyani community to engage with TUT management and seek clarity on various issues, became chaotic when the university explained that the people currently working on its campus were hired before the community liaison officer, who is responsible for facilitating the hiring process, was appointed.

On hearing this, the people in the hall became loud and uncontrollable, demanding that those who had already been employed by TUT be dismissed and that the hiring process start afresh.

“As representatives of the Giyani Business Forum, which represents more than 400 businesses, we heard that you forced the people who were sent to attend a stakeholder meeting to sign a non-disclosure agreement, which prevents them from informing us about what is happening behind closed doors.

“You have been meeting with them all this time, but we know nothing about what has been discussed because you have silenced them, and they cannot say anything. The information you are presenting today is new to us,” said one of the business representatives, known in Giyani as Makhoseni.

“Another issue that we need clarity on is the matter of social facilitators. We don’t know who they are or where they are based because, as far as we know, here in Giyani we don’t have any social facilitators,” added another speaker, Percy Mthombeni.

He argued that all those employed by TUT should be released so that the hiring process can start afresh.

Mayor intervenes

Seeing the situation getting out of hand, Giyani Mayor Thandi Zitha intervened and promised to convene a meeting that would include TUT, the Giyani Business Chamber, and the municipality to resolve the issues.

“We have heard your concerns, but I would like to ask that we not discuss the matter here. I will arrange a meeting with TUT where you can raise your concerns,” she said to the representatives of the Giyani Business Chamber.

However, she strongly criticised how TUT handled the hiring process, saying it had undermined the municipality.

“Let me start by saying that the response regarding how people were employed was very wrong. All the projects that come here usually receive help from the municipality when they need labourers. But the way TUT handled this situation might lead to us wanting to verify whether indeed the people that have been employed there are residents of Giyani,” she said, as the crowd in the hall clapped hands.