SEDIBENG. – The South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU), the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), and the African National Congress (ANC) in Sedibeng recently held a meeting to discuss the political implications of Rand Water and ESKOM’s attachment of Emfuleni Local Municipality’s (ELM) bank accounts.

The attachment of the accounts has resulted in workers and ELM’s service providers getting paid late in the last few months, and this has also in turn affected service delivery, and prevented workers from accessing their benefits such as medical, funeral, and pension.

ANC Sedibeng Regional Secretary, Jason Mkhwane said that they have agreed to take joint rolling mass action against what he said was the unjustifiable actions by parastatals who have taken over the function of being a paymaster. He called for the immediate upliftment of the attachment to allow for the payment of all statutory payments facing the workers.

“We have also agreed to meet urgently again to have deeper discussions and find common solutions to the challenges facing our local municipalities in Sedibeng. While we support the corporatization of Metsi into a water utility through S63 intervention, we also agree that workers should be properly consulted.”

Mkwhane added that they believe that the government should not take itself to court when there is an intergovernmental platform to resolve issues.

“Therefore, we will be reporting these criminal actions by Rand Water and ESKOM to law enforcement agencies and mobilizing workers and the community of SEDIBENG to voice our displeasure.”