VANDERBIJLPARK.- The embattled Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM), led by Executive Mayo Sipho Radebe is said to have spent over R55 million in a legal dispute with an employee.

The news was revealed by the Gauteng MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Mzi Khumalo, in a written reply to the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) questions in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL). Approximately R55 315 741.84 was spent over unfair labour practices relating to benefits on an acting allowance.

DA Emfuleni North Constituency Head, Kingsol Chabalala said that according to MEC Khumalo, the following legal firms were paid for the legal dispute between Emfuleni and one of its employees:
• Madhlopha and Thenga Inc Attorney: R37 541 183.96
• Kgokong Attorney: R47 500.00
• Botes Heerden Incorporated: R15 996 244.35
• Mojela Hlazo Attorney: R1 730 813.53

The legal fees were paid to these firms between 1 July 2017 and 24 March 2024.

“While residents suffer from a constant shortage of water, poor refuse collection, and persistent power outages. This money spent on outsourcing legal services could have been used to improve service delivery, and legal services could have been provided internally instead. The cash-strapped Emfuleni Local Municipality is struggling to deliver services to its residents, and it is unacceptable that it is spending such staggering sums of money to fight one labour dispute when the Labour Court has already ordered it to pay R739 551.42,” Chabalala said.

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Sedibeng Chairperson, Isaac Khithika also condemned the spending and said that this is one of the many reasons why the EFF has, on many occasions, called for insourcing at the ELM.

“The surprising part is that the municipality has a legal department that can deal with labour issues but rather chooses to outsource. He called for the immediate cutting of the middleman and the use of the internal legal department. We are also calling for the immediate closure of pursuing unending labour disputes.”

Makhosonke Sangweni, ELM spokesperson said that the R55 million in legal fees is not limited to labour disputes only.

“This amount is for all legal works from various departments within the Municipality, legal and conveyancing. Examples are BXC, Eskom, Evictions, By-Laws, and Cemeteries. Within Labour Relations, disputes are not limited to unfair labour practices only. There are cases of unfair dismissals, promotions, and demotions, to mention but few.”

He added that the municipality is under no obligation to pay every employee who brings a claim against it as this will undoubtedly open the floodgates of litigation by the employees against the ELM.

“It must be understood that there are matters that officials of the municipality can handle whilst others they cannot. For instance, municipal officials have no right of appearance in courts as they are not legal practitioners in private practice. Insofar as the allegations on how the R55m is being apportioned to various matters, one is quick to realise that a payment of R37m to Madhlopa & Thenga Inc is highly inflated. We will make available the actual calculations of how much each law firm was paid for the matters in question.”