/ 3 February 2009

‘Police chief graft allegations not core to strike’

Johannesburg municipality spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane on Tuesday told the Mail and Guardian Online that calls to oust Johannesburg metro police department (JMPD) chief Chris Ngcobo were a ”non-core issue” in ongoing strike negotiations.

The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu), however, regards Ngcobo as a stumbling block to the negotiations and is therefore calling for his redeployment. The union stated in a memorandum, that ”the chief of police [Ngcobo] is not fit or competent to head a department like the JMPD”.

Samwu, representing about 3 000 Johannesburg metro police officers and administration workers, began striking on Monday in protest against what has been widely regarded as corruption within the department.

This followed the granting of a court order on Friday to legalise the strike.

On Monday, Samwu presented Johannesburg mayor Amos Masondo with a memorandum in which the core demands included that a licensing official, known only as Ms Essau, be suspended; that the deputy director in the internal affairs unit be suspended ”because he is an accomplice in a case involving Sergeant De Beer”, who is an employee at the same unit; and that the JMPD should not re-engage retired cops.

Modingoane said the mayor had asked to be briefed on the weight of the allegations by Johannesburg City management and added that the municipality was ”committed to resolving the deadlock on the core issues raised and tabled in Friday’s court papers”.

As the strike entered its second day on Tuesday — and with only 25% of the JMPD work force reporting for duty — Edna Mamonyane, JMPD spokesperson, said the city was relying on assistance from private-sector organisations like OUTsurance and provincial support services to cope with the workload on the roads.

She added that testing stations and other licensing services are also involved in the strike. ”It’s not only metro officers … but support staff as well.”

Mamonyane declined to comment on the mayor’s view of the corruption allegations relating to Ngcobo, referring the M&G Online to the mayor’s office, which couldn’t be reached for comment.

The Independent Municipal Allied Trade Union (Imatu) initially declined joining the strike because it ”felt that the formal grievance procedures had not been exhausted by Samwu leadership”.

Most of the 25% of staff who have remained at work throughout the strike are Imatu members.

Imatu Gauteng regional manager Mark-Lee Gericke said that his union was very committed to the fight against corruption but they differed with Samwu on how it expressed its grievances.

He said, however, the union was not ruling out the possibility of joining the strike — a move that could further cripple the city’s capacity to render services to residents.

Modingoane stressed that ”no other [essential] service department has received notice of intention to strike”.

He appealed to Samwu to ”focus on trying to normalise the situation” and focus on the core demands of the memorandum that were presented to Masondo.