The metro has been called on to prioritise skills and merit when filling thousands of vacant positions instead of ‘blindly pursuing racial targets’.

Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) councillor Roché Grebe said the city is sitting on a service delivery crisis with more than 12 500 vacancies, affecting crucial departments like Energy and Electricity, Water and Sanitation, Roads and Transport, and Health.

“Vacancy rates of up to 74% in some departments are not just numbers; they translate directly into power outages, uncollected waste, water leaks and collapsing infrastructure,” Grebe said.

He added that while the metro’s employment equity report shows surplus staff in certain areas, others remain severely understaffed.

“This contradiction proves there is a dysfunctional Human Resources system that cannot align the workforce with operational needs,” Grebe said.

“Instead of focusing on equity statistics, the city should focus on appointing qualified people who can actually do the job.”

According to Grebe, the metro’s inefficiency and planning failures are being felt daily by residents.

“People are paying for incompetence with poor service. The FF Plus will not stand by while the city sacrifices delivery for political targets,” he said.

Grebe warned that filling all vacant posts without proper planning would push the wage bill above R21-billion, which she said is unsustainable.

“The city must act responsibly and find a balanced, performance-driven staffing model that protects both finances and services,” he added.

He said the FF Plus has demanded that the executive authority implement an urgent audit of all positions and review the current human resource allocation.

It is also requesting an urgent review of all staffing allocations, audits of vacant positions, and a performance-driven approach that ensures residents receive reliable services.

“Blindly following racial targets while ignoring competence is a recipe for failure,” Grebe emphasised.

“Tshwane residents deserve skilled officials delivering the services they pay for.”

The metro said it has allocated a dedicated budget to address the 12 529 vacant positions across its departments, with critical posts in Energy and Electricity and Water and Sanitation set to be prioritised.

City spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said the municipality is aware of the severe staffing shortfalls that have affected service delivery in recent months but insists that plans are underway to stabilise operations.

“The city took a deliberate decision to prioritise positions in the utility cluster, including Energy and Electricity as well as the Water and Sanitation business units,” Mashigo said.

“We have allocated a budget to capacitate these units and ensure service delivery is not compromised.”

Mashigo dismissed claims of surplus staff in the metro, saying the city has not identified any excess personnel.

“There is no surplus staff that the city is aware of. We are currently filling positions to augment capacity where required,” he said.

He added that the city has adopted a new workforce planning tool that allows departments to prioritise critical vacancies according to operational needs.

“This system ensures that staffing decisions are guided by actual service delivery demands rather than arbitrary targets,” Mashigo explained.

He further assured that filling these vacancies will not push the city’s wage bill beyond R21-billion, adding that the budget remains under control.

“The city’s wage bill will remain within sustainable limits. All appointments are made in line with legislation and policy, ensuring that merit and skills are prioritised alongside employment equity requirements,” he said.

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