Tshwane Metro managers allegedly bribed top union officials and shop stewards with thousands of rands in irregular payments to keep workers at some of the metro’s troubled departments in the dark.
Officials in the metro’s bus services and waste management divisions are alleged to have allowed irregular payments to shop stewards and union leaders for shifts they did not work and allowances they were not entitled to.
Tshwane spokeswoman Dikeledi Phiri said they were not aware of the allegations but regarded them in a serious light and would investigate them. “They suggest that the city has in its employ individuals who are corrupt, that the city has managers who misuse public funds and that the city has employed individuals in management positions who are not fit to manage,” said Phiri.
She called on any individuals or organisations with information to submit it to the metro.
The allegations came to light during a feud between SA Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) officials in the Tshwane branch, which has resulted in fraud charges being laid against Samwu regional chairman Sonnyboy Moloto by suspended shop steward Joseph Dhladhla.
Moloto has in turn claimed R100 000 in damages from Dhladhla for accusing him of receiving kickbacks from the municipality.
Dhladhla said on Monday that Moloto’s legal actions had triggered what is likely to reveal deep-rooted corruption within Samwu and the municipality.
“This will really reveal the extent of corruption inside the union and the municipality and also how it is affecting service delivery in Tshwane.
Moloto has refuted all corruption allegations against him and said he was not aware of any charges laid against him.
However, police spokeswoman Captain Louise Reed confirmed that they were investigating a fraud charge involving Samwu.
Moloto confirmed that he had instituted legal action against Dhladhla for defamation resulting from the “baseless” allegations he has made against him.
“I believe they are malicious and have other intentions other than fighting corruption,” said Moloto.
It has also been claimed that some union officials have submitted false travel claims to Samwu.
Sources in the union have alleged that management in the Tshwane bus services and waste management divisions were aware of amounts paid that were essentially meant as bribes to ensure union officials worked to quell worker uprisings and labour-related disruptions.
This included misleading contract workers about the finer details of agreements reached between the municipality and the union in which workers would be absorbed into the municipality from the employ of labour brokers.
According to the agreement, some of the workers would be absorbed into the municipality as full-time employees while some would be used as back-up staff.
But workers were given the impression they would all be absorbed into the municipality and not continue to work for labour brokers.
Zebulon Monkoe, a former Samwu secretary in Tshwane who died in a car accident last year, was also fingered.
These claims are also contained in an internal Samwu forensic report compiled by Horwath Forensics SA in December 2010, which alleged that certain Samwu leaders in the union’s Tshwane branch were receiving additional allowances which they were not entitled to from the municipality.
According to the report, Monkoe received more than R27 000 in allowances and payments that he was not entitled to from the municipality. It was also claimed in the report that Monkoe and Moloto had allegedly made fraudulent travel claims from their own union.
“Based on the preliminary findings and evidence, it appears that travel claims and allowances are being abused and concealed by collusive behaviour. We recommend that a full forensic audit be performed in these areas, with specific regard to the identified irregularities pertaining to Monkoe and Moloto,” read the report.
The waste management and bus divisions have been among the worst-run divisions in the municipality for years and have been the most affected by sporadic strikes.
Six managers in the bus division were suspended earlier this year on allegations of corruption related to the fraudulent sales of bus tickets and the “disappearance” of a bus from the Tshwane bus depot.
Samwu regional secretary Edwin Rasuba said on Monday they believed Moloto’s version regarding the alleged bribes, which he claimed were payments made in error by the municipality. It was not clear if the money was repaid.
Those who attended the meeting at which Moloto offered his explanations were satisfied by it.
Pretoria News