DA officials in 'jobs for sons' deal‚ says Cosatu

A view of the crowd during the DA march for jobs. PHOTO: ANTONIO MUCHAVE
A view of the crowd during the DA march for jobs. PHOTO: ANTONIO MUCHAVE

Cape Town City Speaker‚ Dirk Smit and the Provincial Government’s Brent Gerber organised jobs for each other’s kids in government‚ Cosatu alleged in a statement on Monday.

“The truth of the matter is that Smit organised a job for Gerber’s son in his Department and that Gerber organised a job for Smit’s son in Provincial Government‚” the federation said of the Democratic Alliance officials.

“This son of Smit is doing nothing constructive in the City of Cape Town and is receiving a huge salary for sitting around.”

Cosatu also claims that Smit’s son will be getting a bursary. “…He is going to receive/has received a study bursary from the Provincial Government. This Speaker earns an annual salary of about a million rand from the City‚ but his son must get a bursary‚ whilst poor black workers in the City of Cape Town do not get bursaries from the Provincial Government or the City of Cape Town.”

Cosatu said that there was a racial aspect to the issue‚ as well as in the manner in which jobs were racially determined in the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP).

 “If he (Smit’s son) has no skills‚ as appears to be the case‚ he should have been put in an EPWP job. This clearly shows that the Mayor’s EPWP jobs at low salaries are only for blacks.

“These jobs for friends are similar to the jobs for friends that (Premier Helen) Zille organised for Tim Harris with (Mayor Patricia) De Lille after he was humiliated in National Parliament. The jobs for friends mainly apply to white leaders of the DA‚ whilst black [Coloured and African] youth are overlooked.

“The Mayor (De Lille) is aware of this nepotism but she allows the old white guard to operate with impunity‚ as long as they support her agenda and political survival.”

Cosatu is demanding that the issue be investigated within the week.

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