The Nketoana Local Municipality has turned to the Free State High Court to dismiss a total of 74 general workers it says it hired unlawfully.
According to court papers, the municipality wants the appointments invalidated and set aside after it hired 71 people, more employees than advertised. The chief financial officer, Jabulani Makubu, had red-flagged the hiring as irregular.
In May, Sunday World reported that the municipality had advertised only 43 posts, but it is unclear how it ended up with the 28 more people. Makubu said this would cost the municipality at least R3.62-million per annum in basic salaries.
In the court papers that Sunday World has seen, the municipality admits to hiring even more people that it now also seeks to fire.
“In accordance with section 172 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 108 of 1996, the first to 74th respondents are to be remunerated for services rendered in that capacity until the date of service of this application upon them and whilst performing work in terms of their unlawful appointment, but in any event not beyond 1 July 2025,” reads the court document.
Municipal manager Mokete Nhlapo told Sunday World the staff had not been paid since their employment commenced. He would not explain why the municipality was seeking to invalidate all appointments, including the 43 it agrees it wanted from the outset.
“The excess number of appointments would have had a negative impact on the budget, especially for the 2024/2025 financial year,” said Nhlapo.
Qaphodi Moloi, South African Municipal Workers Union chairperson, said despite the administrative bungle that led to the appointments, the union wanted the employees paid for the time worked until court resolution.
He told Sunday World that each employee had expected to be paid R10 113 per month.
“We then said the municipality should give them termination letters.”
He said the municipality sought legal opinion and then gave the employees an option: it could re-advertise the posts or go to court. The employees rejected both and approached the CCMA.
Free State Premier Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae and the Cooperative Governance, Traditional Affairs and Human Settlements MEC hadn’t commented at the time of going to print.
