The DA announced that legal action is to be taken over Mettler's suspension and the lifting of the suspension of the city's CFO Gareth Mnisi.
The suspension of Johann Mettler and Tshwane’s worker insourcing plans have sparked criticism from the DA and FF Plus. Picture: X/@Our_DA
The DA will take legal action over the recent suspension of city manager Johann Mettler, DA Tshwane mayoral candidate Cilliers Brink says.
This comes amid ructions following the mayoral committee’s recent announcement of its intention to rehire 43 workers fired during a violent and unprotected strike in 2023 and a worker recruitment plan.
Opposition criticises insourcing plan
Freedom Front Plus (FF+) Tshwane caucus leader Grandi Theunissen said this is a slap in the face of taxpayers.
It also condoned criminality and disregarded the rule of law, he added.
FF+ will continue to reject the ANC-led coalition’s intention to insource as a dishonest attempt to mask governance failures with populist rhetoric, Theunissen said.
“The timing of the insourcing plan, which immediately follows the coalition’s questionable and likely unlawful suspension of Mettler, is no coincidence. By removing the independent accounting officer who upheld the Municipal Finance Management Act, the coalition has dismantled the city’s last line of defence.
“This plan is designed to bypass fiscal oversight and fasttrack unbudgeted political appointments,” he said.
“The City of Tshwane is not a social welfare agency. While the FF+ supports the strategic, merit-based insourcing of skilled and scarce technical resources, we oppose the mass hiring of unskilled labour.
“The city should be investing in modern, automated electronic technology to improve security and efficiency. Bloating the wage bill with manual labour is fiscally unsustainable and a burden on the residents of Tshwane.”
ANC defends rehiring decision
But ANC Greater Tshwane regional secretary George Matjila said they were pleased with the city’s implementation of a long-standing policy of the ANC on the insourcing of security guards and cleaners.
The 43 workers to be rehired were fired by the previous coalition in the City of Tshwane.
The council also decided to insource about 100 security guards, with other recruitment set to follow.
Matjila said the 100 security guards that will be brought into the City of Tshwane will be employed on a full-time basis.
Yesterday Brink announced that legal action is to be taken over Mettler’s suspension and the lifting of the suspension of the city’s chief financial officer Gareth Mnisi.
The DA had written to the city manager about the coalition’s intention of reinstating the 43 dismissed said workers and the party stated that it would consider legal action should the reports be proven to be true.
However, Mettler was suspended by the council before he could react to the DA’s concerns on the matter.
