Officials 'took trainee bribes'

2010-01-21 16:06

Durban - Durban municipal officials allegedly received bribes to hire trainee metro police officers, a union claimed on Thursday.

"It is alleged that there were people that didn't get the correct marks, but those people were on the training list. We want the proper procedure to be followed when hiring," SA Municipal Worker's Union (Samwu) provincial secretary Jaycee Ncanane said.

Metro police spokesperson Senior Superintendent Joyce Khuzwayo said the matter was taken to court after unions complained that the correct procedures were not followed.

"The matter was taken to court, unions were complaining that some people working for the municipality received bribes to hire the trainees."

The matter was scheduled to be heard in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court on January 28.

Thousands queued

In September last year thousands of people queued outside Durban's Curries Fountain Stadium in the hope of getting one of the 300 training positions advertised in newspapers.

Samwu said last year they applied for a court interdict to prevent the municipality from continuing to hire trainees.

"The interdict was granted. We will be going back to court on January 28 where the court will give us direction on what to do."

Ncanane said the municipality's part-time workers should have been given preference for the training posts.

"People that were already working for the municipality should have been given preference. In this case people from outside were taken."

- SAPA