This move follows revelations that the ailing metro has spent R470 million on overtime payments over the past two years. The recruitment, which will be phased in, aims to fill 450 general worker positions across departments crippled by high vacancy rates, with some ranging from 25% to 56%, particularly in technical and social services, such as solid waste management.

The metros said the exorbitant overtime pay is directly linked to staff shortages.

Mayor Gregory Nthatisi had said the metro will implement a shift system as part of efforts to rein in the bloated overtime bill. He also said to rectify the anomaly, the metro will go on a recruitment drive to fill the high vacancy rate, especially at lower level, to assist the metro to save on overtime payments.

The metro confirmed that it will roll out the appointments in line with available resources, including tools of trade such as vehicles, yellow equipment, and training personnel.

The ailing metro has recently come under scrutiny with opposition parties calling for thorough investigations into a damning overtime report by the Auditor General.

ActionSA Free State chairperson Patricia Kopane lambasted the municipality’s financial mismanagement.

“The reckless expenditure of R470 million on overtime payments over the past two years, including payments made to a sewer cleaner while he was incarcerated, is not only outrageous but also a glaring symbol of the ANC-led administration’s contempt for ethical governance and fiscal responsibility.”

Nthatisi previously acknowledged the existence of “ghost workers” and misuse of overtime, but deflected some of the blame onto the metro’s history of political instability

OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi cvs