EFF withdraws from Black Caucus

The EFF in Nelson Mandela Bay has pulled out of the Black Caucus, which is made up of the UDM, AIC, United Front and the Patriotic Alliance.

EFF regional secretary Hector Peter also said the party would only attend the upcoming council meeting to pass the budget if security guards, assistance to the poor (ATTP) plumbers, meter readers and seasonal workers were insourced by the municipality.

In a statement yesterday,

Hector said there were a number of outstanding workers left out during previous insourcing of 672 security guards.

“The 672 security guards were insourced between 2017 and 2019, but there are still 562 outstanding security guards.”

During a March council meeting, councillors refused to rescind their decision on insourcing security workers, which was one of the conditions the National Treasury had before approaching the finance minister to hold off on clawing back R3bn.

The money was availed to the city over the years for the beleaguered Integrated Public Transport System (IPTS).

The Treasury had warned that if the council did not abide by its conditions, it would recoup the bus system money by withholding future grants and equitable shares.

“Further, there’s 100 Mandela Bay Development Agency security guards that should be immediately insourced,” Peter said.

“There are 106 ATTP plumbers that must be insourced immediately. There is a standing council resolution on the insourcing of call centre cleaners but there is no implementation yet, so we demand an immediate insourcing.”

The unqualified or semiskilled “foot plumbers” are at present paid through an equitable share allocation from the National Treasury via the ATTP scheme.

Peter also called on the municipality to service all pockets of land that had been identified for planned development in the metro. “During the 2018/2019 financial year there were 9,431 available [pockets of land] for development and there were 2,500 sites planned for development in 12 areas.

“We call for the immediate servicing of all the 9,431 sites,” he said.

Peter proposed that a Sassa office be built in Ward 43 as people from the area had to travel elsewhere to receive assistance.

Ward 43 is the party’s only ward in the metro’s 60 wards.