Johannesburg - Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi on Thursday called for the Free State’s Moqhaka mayor - Mantebu Mokgosi - to be dismissed over the unenclosed toilet scandal, the SABC reported.
Vavi was responding to claims that Mokgosi's husband's company was a sub-contractor in the Viljoenskroon open toilet matter.
“The mayor must be shown the door, together with all of those who assisted her,” the SABC quoted Vavi as saying.
“We demand action on the part of those that are in authority. Just like we demand action against the mayor of Moqhaka.”
Vavi said he could see the need for building the toilets, but added Mokgosi having a commercial interest in the matter was “not forgivable”.
The SABC reported that the contract for building the toilets amounted to more than R1.5-million.
Earlier on Thursday, the African National Congress in the Free State said Mokgosi had informed them that her husband's company was a sub-contractor.
Free State ANC secretary Sibongile Besani said the provincial executive had decided to handle the matter on a political and not on an individual level.
Mokgosi and various other Free State mayors were present at the ANC media briefing in Bloemfontein. Mokgosi was not asked to answer questions on the toilet matter.
The ANC was treating the mayors to a breakfast to congratulate them for work well done in municipalities before the May 18 local government elections.
ANC Youth League chief Julius Malema called for heads to roll over the matter during a recent visit to the Rammulotsi township, near Viljoenskroon, in the ANC-run Moqhaka municipality.
An estimated 1 600 toilets, built under a government infrastructure project, were believed to have been left unenclosed in the township.
Besani said the Free State government had since stepped in and asked three contractors to start enclosing the open toilets.
“We want this badness to go away,” he said, adding that the plan was to close 150 open toilets a day to remove the “dent” in the ANC name.
It was estimated that the task would take more than a month.
Asked about service delivery problems, Besani said the ANC had a plan for local government.
Answering questions on community allegations of corrupt municipal officials and public representatives, he said the ANC would look at “putting in place cadreship and public representatives” that were more people-orientated.
He said those mayors to represent the ANC after next week's local government elections should also know by now that they would be held accountable by the ANC and the provincial government. - Sapa