BARBERTON – Four union members representing the workers of Barberton General Hospital have been suspended on full pay pending an investigation.
They were part of the interviewing panel allegedly implicated in the “job for pals” scheme at this public institution.
They are Sunday Myeni and Muzi Shongwe of National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu), Thembi Zulu (The Health and Other Services Personnel Trade Union of South Africa) and Edna Godi of the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa.
Ronnie Masilela, health spokesman said, “This is a preliminary suspension pending an investigation. Though Masilela couldn’t specify what they were suspended for, Barberton Times can confirm that one of them (a shop steward) had his wife, another had her husband and the other his girlfriend employed. The paper can further confirm that the wife of an ANC councillor in Umjindi Municipality, the speaker Vusi Mkhatshwa, is one of the 38.
Mkhatshwa confirmed that his wife, Nonkhululeko Vilakazi, had been employed but said he had nothing to do with it.
“She applied on her own and told me she had been appointed,” said Mkhatshwa.
Many of these new employees did not have the necessary qualifications. The minimum requirements for the posts of groundsmen and cleaners are an Adult Basic Education and Training or grade 10 qualification and they had to be residents of the town.
An allegation that the employee list had been manipulated also caused a lot of unhappiness in the community. According to an internal circular dated April 26, there were vacant posts for 15 cleaners and five groundsmen. All these were at the local general hospital. But surprisingly, when appointments were made on September 26, the posts had increased to 38 – 30 cleaners and eight groundsmen.
