MAQUASSI HILLS, NORTH WEST – Employees at the Maquassi Hills Local Municipality have staged a protest demanding the immediate resignation of the municipal manager. The picket, held outside the council chambers, highlights severe frustrations over lapsed third-party payments and unremitted salary deductions that have left workers financially strained.
During the protest, employees revealed that funds routinely deducted from their paychecks are failing to reach the intended service providers. Workers explained that these unremitted payments have been an ongoing crisis, with one employee noting that the issues date back to at least February of the previous year despite having 15 years of dedicated service to the municipality. The missing funds have severely impacted the livelihoods of the staff, prompting the urgent call for leadership changes.
The Speaker of the Maquassi Hills Local Municipality confirmed that a special council meeting was convened at 4:00 PM to investigate the financial discrepancies. The Speaker explained that the oversight body intends to find out exactly why deducted funds are not reaching the respective third-party accounts. Regarding the ultimatum for the municipal manager to step down, the Speaker noted that the council, which originally appointed the manager, would formally address and pronounce itself on the workers’ memorandum. The Speaker’s office affirmed its commitment to ensuring the municipality takes the workers’ demands into account, though they declined to speak directly on behalf of the manager.
The labor unrest follows a highly embarrassing recent appearance by municipal officials before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa). During the proceedings, the officials were deemed entirely unprepared and were subsequently asked to leave the committee.
Reacting to the circulating video of the Scopa proceedings and the ongoing worker protests, a representative named Sanko has called for the local municipality to be entirely disbanded.
Sanko described the current municipal setup as a “puppet show,” alleging that the municipal manager is acting as the “puppet master.” Furthermore, Sanco directed heavy criticism at the provincial leadership, arguing that the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) is a core part of the problem. According to Sanko, the local council has proven “useless” for a long time by failing to account to Scopa, prompting demands for the current leadership to be removed to resolve the community’s intolerable challenges.
