SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) secretary in Limpopo Patrick Aphane has slammed his union members in Thulamela municipality for siding with politicians and management to hunt down a whistleblower instead of investigating tender corruption of R61.1 million that he raised.
Samwu branch leaders participated in a meeting on Monday when a resolution was taken to protect Thulamela Local Municipality manager in Thohoyandou Masala Makumule. The parties gave Makumule the power to investigate and find the person who leaked the information, but said nothing about the allegations the whistleblower raised against him.
They said that Makumule should finish his investigation within 20 days. Aphane said:
As a union, we do not want to see municipalities hellbent on eliminating workers who expose greedy politicians and officials who enrich themselves through municipal resources.
READ: Council helps municipal manager hunt whistleblower who exposed shady R61m tender
He said that the union had gone through very painful experiences when its leaders - Ronald Mani and Timson Tshililo Musetsho - at the Vhembe District Municipality were assassinated for exposing corruption in 2019 about the dodgy investment at the Venda Building Society (VBS) Mutual Bank. The poorest of the poor lost their hard-earned cash due to the liquidation, while implicated mayors were promoted to higher positions after the scandal.
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