ELM allegedly spends over R7 million on legal fees relating to suspended employees
"Some of the matters are subjudicare and cannot be discussed publicly.”
SEDIBENG. – The Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM), that is currently led by Executive Mayor, Hassan Mako, is said to be spending millions of rands on suspended employees, whose disciplinary cases are dragging without any foreseeable end.
Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM) Democratic Alliance (DA) Mayor elect, Kingsol Chabalala, said that the DA is outraged that employees suspended by the ELM, seemingly indefinitely, continue to receive their salaries while legal costs accumulate.
Chabalala further said that there are currently 22 employees who have been suspended for possible misconduct at the municipality and that the length of their suspensions varies, but collectively, they span several years.
The total amount paid to these suspended employees is said to be nearing R24 million.
“We requested details of the legal costs incurred as a result of these prolonged suspensions. The amount paid to all the law firms involved totals more than R7 million,” said Chabalala.
Why is the Emfuleni Local Municipality dragging out these suspensions?
He added that it is unacceptable that taxpayers’ money has been used to fund these “endless suspensions”, which have lasted so long that they have become difficult to rationalise.
“This money could have rather been used on service delivery. Why is the Emfuleni Local Municipality dragging out these suspensions? Is this a classic case of cadre employment, in which corruption is protecting a politically connected few, or is it simply mismanagement at its finest?”
ELM spokesperson, Makhosonke Sangweni, said that to enforce consequence management, disciplinary measures are implemented but employees have their constitutional rights to take the matters out, and ELM must also defend itself.
Some of the matters are subjudicare and cannot be discussed publicly.
“The decisions taken here have nothing to do with any political parties but are administrative, we advise the DA to not use manipulated information to campaign in the name of ELM. Accordingly, some of the matters are subjudicare and cannot be discussed publicly.”
