The Democratic Alliance (DA) is seeking to urgently interdict the R10-billion wage agreement between the City of Johannesburg (CoJ), and the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu).

Last week, the Johannesburg City Council passed the adjustment budget, which the DA said highlighted the “catastrophic risk” to the City’s financial viability of the agreement with Samwu.

The party described the agreement as a “heist,” claiming that it bypassed proper Council processes and was made without proper authority.

DA Johannesburg mayoral candidate Helen Zille explained that the agreement committed the city to paying Samwu members more than R10-billion.

“This is more than the City’s entire annual budget for building new infrastructure to improve service delivery,” she highlighted.

She said the agreement was a “politically facilitated agreement”.

“…it is, once again, the ANC using ratepayers’ money to buy Samwu’s support for the forthcoming election. Put another way, it is the ANC using public money to bribe Samwu to support and campaign for the ANC in this election,” she stated.

She pointed to the adjustment budget, which she said demonstrated the impact of the agreement.

“In the budget, the first tranche of R1.4-billion under this agreement would be paid. That almost exactly equalled the cuts to the budgets of City Power, Joburg Water and Pikitup,” she explained.

Zille claimed that in reaching this agreement, the ANC ignored the law, and the City’s dire financial circumstances, to buy political support.

“This is illegal. That is why we are seeking an urgent interdict to prevent the further looting of the City’s water and electricity budgets to fund the ANC’s election strategy.

“This is a matter of the gravest public importance because if implemented, it will have devastating financial consequences for the City,” she warned.

Zille highlighted that the CoJ was already in an “extreme” financial crisis, which is why President Cyril Ramaphosa, and the Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana singled out Johannesburg as an example of a failing government.

“… if this agreement is not stopped, it will be the final nail in Joburg’s coffin,” she said.