Tensions rise in metro as Samwu clashes with DA over Adam’s departure

The South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) in Tshwane has countered the DA’s assertion that Ashraf Adam, the metro’s former governance and support officer, resigned under political pressure.

Adam’s unexpected departure was captured in council reports tabled during the council meeting on January 30.

These reports proposed the appointment of an acting governance and support officer and the advertising of a vacant position.

The two reports were loaded onto Tshwane’s SharePoint system for resolution at the council meeting, one recommending the appointment of an acting officer for governance and support, the other advertising the post.

Included in these tabled reports were allegations against Adam for failing to disclose the facts behind a mutual separation agreement with one of his former employers in 2011.

Samwu in the Tshwane region called the DA Tshwane Caucus’ reaction to the resignation a “theatrical protest”.

The DA said in a press release that the risk they see with Adam’s sudden resignation is that the ANC-led coalition, with the help of ActionSA and the EFF, is resuming its cadre deployment programme.

But the union strongly disagreed with this.

Union spokesperson Donald Monakisi said, “It is nothing more than a thinly veiled distraction from the real issue. The DA has chosen to fabricate a narrative of political victimisation, a desperate ploy to divert attention from their own failings.”

According to Monakisi, the DA cannot claim to uphold the principles of good governance while shielding compromised figures within their ranks.

“Their hypocrisy knows no bounds. Their sudden indignation over political interference is nothing short of laughable, given their own history of questionable appointments in Tshwane,” said Monakisi.

He pointed out that to Samwu, Adam’s abrupt resignation “is a clear indication that he could not withstand the scrutiny of due process”.

Commenting on Samwu’s standpoint that they apply double standards, former DA mayor Cilliers Brink told Rekord: “When it comes to the union, they are an ANC-aligned trade union that turned a blind eye to cadre deployment for decades. They are part of the corrupt scheme that enabled state capture.”

He explained that his party’s viewpoint is that Adam was a senior manager appointed by the municipal council, and the allegations against him were not reported to the council before an investigation was undertaken against him.

According to him, such an investigation is required by the regulations for the discipline process of senior managers.

“Only the municipal council can authorise such an investigation. As a councillor, you might disagree with this procedural rule as required by law, but when it is skipped, you have to ask what’s going on. Why not follow the rules?” asked Brink.

He is uncomfortable that only when Adam resigned, the present mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya “suddenly informed the council that they had a case against this official”.

Brink questioned the presumption that there is at all a case against Adam.

“What is the case? That he failed to disclose in 2023 the fact that he had reached a separation agreement with Public Works that ended his employment there in 2011, 14 years ago? On the face of it, the failure to disclose a separation agreement does not constitute a disciplinary offence. But now council won’t have the benefit of this matter being dealt with in terms of the disciplinary regulations for senior managers,” he emphasised.

Brink pointed out that nobody will now know if the case against Adam was a way of removing him from his position to make way for an ANC cadre.

“There is good reason to suspect this. The ANC and EFF launched various attacks on Adam shortly after his appointment, making allegations that were never substantiated,” said Brink.

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