Kinross residents want their IDs back

KINROSS – A ward councillor from Kinross is in hot water again. This time for taking residents’ identity documents.

Rose Nkabinde admitted to Ridge Times that she collected the IDs and handed them to a contractor, but denies any wrongdoing.

The Mpumalanga Department of Human Settlement began a sewer project in the area and locals hope this will alleviate unemployment.

Residents of the Marikana informal settlement in Kinross said Nkabinde called a community meeting on September 30.

They claim Nkabinde held the meeting to recruit workers for the sewer project.

According to some residents, they had to place their IDs in a basket from which an independent person picked out 10 people to be general workers.

Siphesihle Mazibuko is one of the 10 people whose IDs were drawn from the basket, but he has not yet been contacted to begin work.

“The councillor took our IDs and contact detail but refused to give us her cellphone number.

“She promised to contact us.”

The Department of Labour contacted Mazibuko for employment last week, but she had to take along her ID.

“I lost a chance for work because my ID is with the councillor,” lamented Mazibuko.

The desperate woman went to the police station for help.

“The police called the councillor, who then promised to return my ID, but I have still not received it back,” said Mazibuko.

Community leader and Economic Freedom Fighters PR councillor David Khoza said it is not the councillors’ responsibility to recruit workers for projects.

That is the job of the community liaison officer (CLO). Khoza said he allegedly tried to stop Nkabinde from taking people’s IDs, but she continued.

“We told Nkabinde that it is against the law to have someone else’s documents.”

Khoza reported Nkabinde to the chief whip of the Council, Joseph Mtsweni. Mtsweni and Fikile Magagamela, council speaker, confirmed a complaint was lodged against Nkabinde.

Mtsweni agreed it is not the work of councillors to recruit unemployed community members for projects.

“A councillor’s role is to deal with service delivery-related issues such as water supply and sewage spills and to report all service delivery challenges,” said Mtsweni.

Magagamela said she has instructed Nkabinde to give community members back their IDs. Nkabinde refuted the allegations raised against her, claiming it is a smear campaign against her.

She said her role at the recruitment meeting was merely to oversee whether the recruitment process was conducted freely and fairly. Nkabinde said she did not steal Mazibuko’s ID.

“She gave it to me. When the police instructed me to give her back her ID, I told her to come to fetch it, but she didn’t come,” said Nkabinde.

She told Ridge Times the IDs are currently with the contractor.

Nkabinde made headlines in May when residents of Ext 30, known as Marikana in Kinross, blocked the R29 with burning tyres and stones, demanding her resignation as their ward councillor.

The protesters accused Nkabinde of alleged corruption and that she allegedly elected a family member to work as a community liaison officer (CLO) of the sewer project in the area.

Govan Mbeki Municipality’s mayor, Nhlakanipho Zuma, at the time visited the area to listen to the protesters’ grievances.

Protesters told the mayor that Nkabinde also allegedly interfered in the appointment of sub-contractors.

The protesters demanded that the municipality investigates Nkabinde and other municipal officials who were allegedly subcontracted to the project.

They also alleged that Nkabinde gave the contractor a list of people to be employed and alleged that their councillor doesn’t want to sign a work permit for the contractor to start the work.

Even the MEC of Human Settlement, Speedy Mashilo, met with chaos when he visited the area in October last year for a soil-turning event of the R45m sewer project.

At that time, chaos erupted when a group of community members tried to disrupt a meeting between the Municipality, Mashilo and residents in the area.

The group demanded that the meeting and sod-turning ceremony must stop and also wanted Mashilo to address them about the sewer project.