In a bid to address heavy reliance on private security companies and the associated costs, ActionSA has resubmitted a motion to the eThekwini municipality urging it to insource all security personnel within the metro.
The motion, initially submitted on May 10, was rejected by the speaker of council, citing minor technicalities.
ActionSA claims that outsourcing has led to wasteful expenditure of significant amounts of money, arguing that these funds could be utilised for service delivery.
Zwakele Mncwango, the party’s provincial chairperson, said the speaker’s refusal to entertain the motion reflects an evasion of the debate and a deliberate attempt to prevent it from being discussed.
Despite the setback, he said ActionSA remains hopeful that the motion will be given due consideration in the upcoming council session.
“We believe that the speaker was avoiding this debate, thus deliberately disallowing the motion. Nevertheless, we have resubmitted the motion, which we believe should be debated at the next sitting of council,” he said.
“The municipality has, on numerous occasions, failed to address the issue of outsourcing, which costs the municipality millions of rands per year.
“With the current state of the city, the costs spent on outsourcing could be redirected towards service delivery for the residents of eThekwini, should city leaders lead ethically and insource security personnel.”
Mncwango expressed concerns regarding the exploitation of workers who are receiving inadequate wages and are lacking essential benefits including medical aid and support from the Unemployment Insurance Fund.
He urged the council committee to implement the insourcing of all security personnel by employing the current security guards internally, emphasizing the need to ensure a smooth transition without any victimization of workers.
“During budget processes, the city must prioritise the insourcing of security personnel who are hired under private service providers, working in various departments and entities of the city.
“We continue to work towards ensuring that the eThekwini municipality rids itself of the culture of outsourcing and restores the dignity of security workers across the metro,” Mncwango said.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa.
