Durban - An urgent meeting between uMlazi councillors, eThekwini ANC chief whip Nelly Nyanisa, and city manager Sipho Nzuza and his team to address the outsourcing of refuse removal services in uMlazi, was improper, say opposition parties.
The meeting, held at Nzuza’s office last Monday, was recorded and leaked to the media.
Opposition parties say the meeting was unethical as it discussed how people should be allocated jobs in the uMlazi programme, which is not the job of councillors.
In the recording, Nyanisa is heard telling all in attendance how the applications should be handled.
“You’ll put all the forms aside according to the list of the applicants. When we don’t find all of them, let’s say we don’t find 10%, then take all the forms and engage those people. We will open the window for those who felt they were left behind to apply in the meantime,” she says.
In the recording, having listened to different councillors expressing their feelings, Nzuza is heard saying that proper procedure should be followed.
When contacted for comment, Nzuza confirmed the meeting, saying it was convened to listen to concerns about individuals who had been left out of the recruitment process.
Nyanisa said the meeting was informed by the “chaos” happening around the city at the time.
“We had agreed to take 300 people into the programme and apparently some were left out. We felt that if ignored, these people might mobilise against the programme. The only way to address this was to sit down with the manager and his team and discuss it,” Nyanisa said.
She said the recording, and it being leaked to the media, was a direct attack on her person.
However, IFP councillor Mdu Nkosi viewed this as an attempt to manipulate the system.
“Councillors are not allowed to discuss jobs and tenders with officials,” Nkosi said.
DA chief whip Thabani Mthethwa said the lack of governance in the city was due to political interference in administrative processes.