ANC members disgruntled with pay by organiser for 106th birthday duties

GAUTENG’S former health MEC Qedani Mahlangu recently returned to South Africa from London‚ where she is studying, and is expected to testify at the Esidimeni arbitration hearings on Monday. The scandal happened under her watch and led to 143 deaths of mentally ill patients who had been moved into dodgy NGOs.

Mahlangu’s lawyer‚ Angelo Christophorou‚ guaranteed last year that she would attend the arbitration.

Former Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke said in October last year that he would not end the arbitration hearings until Mahlangu and other project leaders had testified. — SCORES of ANC ward 42 branch members are furious with ANC organisers over their marshalling work at the 106th anniversary celebrations in East London, claiming they were underpaid.

The row turned ugly on Sunday, with marshals demanding more pay at ANC regional offices in the East London CBD.

Ward councillor Senduka Maphuka said there was a misunderstanding.

“Volunteers did not understand. They fail to understand when people are employed by the municipality and when they are employed by the organisation. The ANC employed them, so they should understand the rates won’t be as the same as municipal rates,” said Maphuka.

He said that the matter has been resolved and ANC members would be paid according to the rates proposed, which was R100 a day.

ANC organiser Tandekile Koyana said he needed permission from his bosses’ upper structures in the organisation before he could give a comment.

About 128 members from the ward were employed as marshals for the event.

At a meeting held at the rent office in NU2 on Wednesday, the Daily Dispatch heard disgruntled members complaining ahead of an address by councillor Maphuka and Koyana.

They complained that they were underpaid and had been neglected during the event.

Sandile Rala, who was employed to do security work, said the organisers did not stick to payment agreements. They were paid far less than was promised. We got more work than was agreed to, so we were supposed to receive more money.

“We had sleepless nights, especially on Friday. There was mismanagement, starting from the name tags and our training. We weren’t trained properly at all. We point our fingers at Koyana, because he was in charge of this zone.

“The problem was not the ANC organisation. It was the organisers.”

Rala said marshalls had demanded R700 instead of the proposed R200.

“It is not just us. All branch members from various wards had the same problem,” said Rala.

He said they had no hope of getting the extra money. —