Durban - eThekwini municipal manager S’bu Sithole has been given a 48-hour ultimatum by the Durban metro police to remove police head Eugene Nzama from his position or there will be no officers patrolling the streets come Friday.
Taxi operators have also called for the intervention of KwaZulu-Natal Premier Zweli Mkhize, saying that as the political head of the province, he should deal with the city if it was unable to call Nzama to order.
On Tuesday, the metro police were working on a skeleton staff as hundreds of members gathered at the city hall for five hours to vent their frustration after Nzama, who was put on special leave last month by Sithole, returned to work.
Less than a week after Nzama’s return there have been calls for him to step down from metro police officers, the taxi industry and unions.
At the meeting, police officers complained that Nzama had disrupted all the plans that had been set in motion to turn around the metro police.
During Nzama’s leave, Sithole had asked the city’s disaster management head, Vincent Ngubane, who had been appointed as acting metro police head, to speedily address issues that Nzama had allegedly failed to deal with.
Ngubane was told to facilitate the permanent employment of 1 000 temporary police officers and to send over-age officers for police training.
On the day Nzama returned to work, Ngubane found out of Nzama’s return when he found him behind his desk. Unsure of what to do Ngubane retreated to his old office.
Officers complained that despite the promises that temporary metro police staff would be registered as permanent employees by July 1, this had not yet happened.
“Nzama has come back and put a stop to all the processes that had been started by Ngubane… Nzama is reshuffling people at the metro police from superintendents upwards. He is transferring officers who challenge his decision and wants to put ‘yes men’ (in jobs around him),” said an officer who asked not to be named because he is not allowed to speak to the media.
The officer also said because they had been unable to speak to Sithole on Tuesday they would give him 48 hours to suspend Nzama and would apply for a march and picket. They would down tools on Friday.
Sithole said he had not received any news concerning officers not reporting to work on Friday.
“I will look into those issues when they have been formally raised with me. I need to engage with them (metro police) and find out what are their issues and how I move forward,” he said.
KZN Taxi Alliance general secretary Bafana Mhlongo said it was disappointing that Nzama had been reinstated.
“The issues we raised about Nzama were genuine issues of harassment directed at taxis. The municipality has the right to investigate Nzama, but we wouldn’t like him to continue instructing metro police officers to target taxi operators,” he said.
Mhlongo said if Nzama continued taking unilateral decisions then taxi operators would again go on strike and bring the Durban CBD to a standstill.
“We plan to march on the legislature in Pietermaritzburg on Wednesday to hand a memorandum to Zweli Mkhize. We want him to address our grievances and deal with Nzama,” he said.
SA Municipal Workers’ Union deputy secretary Nkosenhle, Madlala said during Nzama’s absence the first group of officers had been sent for training. “Since his return there is talk and SMSes being circulated that the second group of trainees would not go,” he said.
Nzama was unavailable for comment. - The Mercury