KNYSNA NEWS - The SA Municipal Workers' Union (Samwu) in Knysna has expressed its disappointment with Knysna Acting Municipal Manager (AMM), Dr Louis Scheepers, for not agreeing to meet with them despite several invitations to do so.
On Monday this week, Samwu Knysna branch chairman Shaun Kralo told Knysna-Plett Herald that they had invited Scheepers to formal meetings since his appointment in May but that he had failed to honour their invitations.
"We only had an informal meeting with him, but when we request a meeting with him he ignores us. We believe that Dr Scheepers was brought here to turn around the situation of this municipality but the treatment he is giving us is not acceptable," he said.
"Also, we want an update on the suspended Municipal Manager Dr Sitembele Vatala, as the municipality is paying two municipal managers. Last week we saw an Acting Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Jacques Carstens, and we want to know why the manager in that office was not made to act as the CFO? Why did he [Scheepers] take someone from outside the municipality while the municipality is struggling financially?" he asked.
Kralo said a decision was made to freeze all vacant positions at the municipality, but that there are positions that were advertised despite that decision.
"Dr Scheepers does not recognise us [Samwu] as stakeholders and the majority union. Our regional leadership also wrote to him and requested a meeting but he ignored them," he said, and added that their regional leadership is preparing papers to apply for a legal strike.
Municipal spokesperson Christopher Bezuidenhoudt said they are not going to respond to internal matters via the media.
"In terms of the appointment of the Acting CFO, note that the council appoints Section 57 managers in line with the qualifying criteria..." he said.
'We bring you the latest Knysna, Garden Route news'
