Sowetan writes that the capital city is on fire, but its mayor is in China, and won’t be cutting his trip short.  

As Tshwane entered another day of chaos, with striking workers blocking major streets in the CBD, mayor Stevens Mokgalapa’s office insisted that he would remain in China because his official visit to that country “has been in the pipeline for months”.  Mokgalapa’s absence during the crisis, which was sparked by revelations that the city had hiked salaries of its top executives and managers by 18% while insisting that the rest of the staff should get only a 6% hike, has left a leadership vacuum.  Some of the 64 managers the city views as deserving of the 18% hike already earn between R2m and R3.1m a year, while among those who will be getting 6% increases are employees who earn as low as R5,000 per month.  In the midst of the labour unrest that has rocked the city this week, it emerged that its outgoing city manager Moeketsi Mosola – who was supposed to leave the post on Wednesday – has decided to stay on for another month due “to matters he is yet to resolve with the city”.  Mosola’s continued stay in the office, especially amid reports that the city agreed to pay him out for the remainder of his contract to the tune of R7.5m, is likely to strain relations further.  On Wednesday, the city held a lengthy meeting with Samwu and another municipal union, Imatu, in a bid to find a solution to the salary increase demands.  The meeting was due to resume on Thursday.

• Read the full original of the above report by Isaac Mahlangu on page 4 of Sowetan of 1 August 2019
• Read too, Tshwane municipal workers strike to continue on Thursday, at News24

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