What happened at the Munelek building in Gqeberha on Tuesday should trouble every resident of Nelson Mandela Bay, as storming offices is not the way to resolve issues.
The forceful removal of the acting executive director of electricity and energy, Tholi Biyela, by a group of officials aligned with the SA Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) is more than just an act of protest.
It is a dangerous precedent which undermines governance.
This is not how disputes are resolved in a democracy.
His removal was preceded by a union meeting.
During the meeting, officials voiced their dissatisfaction with Biyela and a resolution was passed to remove him from office.
Workers said they felt disrespected, demoralised and marginalised.
They also accused Biyela of ruling with an iron fist, undermining experienced engineers, and moving to sign a service agreement with Eskom without consulting staff or unions.
The possibility of Eskom coming on board appears to be the biggest gripe, as when the news spread the backlash was swift.
Samwu shop steward Ayanda Solani said Biyela allegedly undermined engineers who had worked in the city for years by starting a process to appoint Eskom as an independent contractor.
“On top of this, Eskom will also bring its service providers to work on the municipal infrastructure,” Solani said.
“It is as if we are not capable of doing the work we studied for and have been doing all our professional lives.”
But, dragging a senior official out of his office replaces institutional discipline with intimidation.
Let us not forget that Biyela himself has opened a police case after a death threat he received.
He is facing assaults on many fronts.
However, the decision was almost a knee-jerk rejection of the Eskom decision.
The moves will mean contractors in the city will be sidelined from work opportunities.
And if contractors are unhappy with the proposed move and officials are taking action into their own hands, the situation highlights a broader power struggle in the department.
The Herald
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.