The DA is outraged that employees suspended by the Emfuleni Local Municipality, seemingly indefinitely, continue to receive their salaries while legal costs accumulate.
There are currently 22 employees who have been suspended for possible misconduct. The length of their suspensions varies, but collectively, they span several years. The total amount paid to these suspended employees is 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.
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?
Either way, it reflects poorly on the ANC-led municipality, which is evidently incapable of good governance and continues to court failure.
Register to vote on 4 November in the Local Government Elections for a DA-led administration that is efficient and effective.