(Leon Sadiki/Gallo Images)
The Nelson Mandela Bay metro’s DA mayoral contender, Athol Trollip, is not waiting for the election results to prepare for a purge of top municipal officials found to have unduly benefited from the state or ANC-linked deals.
One day before the vote, in an unprecedented move, Trollip wrote to all the staff at the municipality to “assure them that their jobs are not in danger,” the Mail and Guardian has learnt.
Trollip said the metro’s entire management structure faces a planned review.
These positions are currently held by ANC deployees, who will be the first people placed under scrutiny should the DA take control of the metro.
“People in management are on contracts and their term comes to an end after the election. We will conduct forensic audits of all people in management positions. If there’s any indication of fraudulent or corrupt activity, they’ll have to answer for that,” Trollip said.
‘Administrative change’
“This is a fiercely contested election and there’s a possibility of administrative change. That brings with it issues of job security, you have nothing to be insecure about. We will treat every single official with mutual respect…” Trollip wrote in the letter.
It was a last-ditch attempt by the DA to win support within the municipality during a period of uncertainty over the administrative change. The planned changes are not aimed at the lower level staff permanently employed by the state, the letter continues. Instead, the metro’s entire management structure faces a planned review.
- Read the full letter here
This is not the first time the municipality’s officials face the firing squad. In 2013, municipal manager Lindiwe Msengana-Ndlela resigned after being pressured by then mayor Ben Fihla to make a host of appointments, including 43 Umkhonto We Sizwe military veterans at a cost of R4.3-million. She was later awarded R3.1-million in damages after the high court in Port Elizabeth confirmed political interference by Fihla and his deputy Thando Ngcolomba.
However, Trollip said his administration would not demand the same unflinching dedication to the DA’s wishes. Instead, he hopes to appoint people with a commitment to clean governance and promote them accordingly. “We have a manifesto on offer of a clean government that’s corruption free and that will create jobs. If they are up for doing that, they will work perfectly within a DA administration. They can get promoted if they work hard, not through cadre deployment,” he wrote.
Trollip insisted the DA’s track record in government proves its commitment to protecting workers’ rights, while implementing its own political ideology. “We govern 25 municipalities, there was never any wholesale firing of people. We embrace the officials and if they embrace the DA they too will benefit directly…” he told the M&G.
Danny Jordaan responds
But the letter has been condemned “with the contempt it deserves” by outgoing mayor Danny Jordaan. “It sends serious signal about somebody who doesn’t understand governance. All those officials account to the city manager and him alone. Maybe he doesn’t understand this. The city manager expressed his disgust with what [Trollip] has done,” he said.
The former mayor said while he was in office, he’d tried to keep political meddling out of the management of the city.
“And we have kept the administration out of the political election. Now, he’s declared it open season. So the EFF can write to staff, ANC can write to staff. The arrogance that he displays shows why he will lose tomorrow,” Jordaan said on Tuesday.