By Luvuyo Mjekula
The Employment and Labour Department says its inspection of Makana Municipality’s buildings last week was a scheduled exercise.
Asked if the decision to inspect the buildings had anything to do with the much-publicised raids carried out by the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) and the Hawks recently, the department’s spokesperson, Ziphozihle Josefu, said inspections are carried out in line with annual plans, purely implemented by the department’s inspectors.
“This particular inspection was scheduled as per the inspectorate plans.”
Grocott’s Mail reported last week that the traffic department and the engineering and infrastructure offices were served with prohibition notices and subsequently closed. This after the inspectors found offices with broken ceilings, roof leakages, no lights and carpet and water flooding.
The department said this was non-compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) and its inspectors have the authority to take action if they discover “significant OHS violations that pose an immediate danger to workers”.
In a statement, the municipality confirmed that a number of buildings “were condemned due to various structural issues such as bad lighting, leaking roofs and damaged floors”.
Josefu said a third building accommodating the caretaker was also prohibited.
She said inspectors are tasked with regulating employment laws through regular inspections. “The decision to prohibit the abovementioned offices is as a result of non-compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA),” she said.
The offices cannot be opened until identified health and safety hazards are dealt with, Josefu stated.
It is the municipality’s prerogative to find space for the affected employees, she said. “The goal is to ensure that workers are not exposed to hazardous conditions whilst the necessary corrective measures are being implemented.”
She said as soon the contraventions have been rectified, “an inspector will verify, and if all is in order, the notice would be revoked”.
Josefu said after issuing a contravention notice, follow up inspections are conducted to verify the extent to which corrective measures are being implemented. Compliance is confirmed when the workplace meets the relevant OHS regulations and standards.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance in Makana welcomed the department’s actions.
Caucus leader Luvuyo Sizani said the party was not surprised by the closures.
“The closure of these buildings came as no surprise to the Democratic Alliance in Makhanda, as we believe that this was long overdue. We have repeatedly raised the matter in the Social Development Portfolio Committee, along with union members and municipal employees. These are not the only buildings that are a risk to employees.”
Sizani said the party welcomed the steps taken by the department to ensure that the safety of the employees is prioritised. “However, the matter must not end there.”
He said the Democratic Alliance would take its own immediate steps.
- Firstly, we will approach the municipal manager to urgently find alternative and appropriate premises for both departments, so that our residents are inconvenienced as little as possible.
- Secondly, we will bring the matter of other non-compliant buildings, such as the Local Economic Development building, to the attention of the Department of Employment and Labour for their assessment.
- In a caring DA government, we would ensure the safety of our employees by accommodating them in buildings which comply with labour law, and we would ensure that our residents, who have endured too much municipal incompetence already, are catered for by municipal departments at all times.
Sizani said this was another blow for the municipality. He said the closures “came hot on the heels of a Special Investigations Unit (SIU) raid on the beleaguered municipality last week”.
“When it rains, it pours,” said Sizani.
