The year 2015 has come and gone and it has been described as one of the most turbulent in years in the history of the Vhembe District Municipality (VDM).The year was marred by service delivery protests in villages, with water being the much-sought-after commodity in most cases. Several instances where staff protested against the late implementation of transfer agreements involving staff drawn from the Department of Water Affairs have occurred.

This year once again saw several months where staff were not getting paid on their payday. Several anti-corruption marches, where members of the civil society complained about the alleged misuse of funds at the municipality, also took place and several calls were made for the recalling of the political management team that is running the municipality.

As if that was not enough, last Thursday (3 December), all services at the municipality came to a complete halt when employees downed tools after the municipality had appointed a municipal manager who was not favoured by the workers' union. Among their grievances was the appointment of the corporate manager, whom they did not want, and they also called for the removal of the political management team.

The new municipal manager, Ms Ndanduleni Makhari, reported for duty on 3 December but was given a very cold welcome. She was allegedly locked inside her office for hours by the protesting workers. Since then, members of the public seeking essential services such as water could not be helped as there were no officials to help them. This has brought a lot of misery to the general community as they have gone without water for a week now in some areas.

Meetings between worker representatives and management have taken place, but these have not borne any fruit as the situation still persists. During one of the meetings, the provincial secretary of the South African Municipal Workers' Union (SAMWU), Mr Cromwell Nhemo, said they had had enough of the political management team that did not listen to the workers. "We will not stop this action. We will show them that we are determined to stop everything here, until they listen to us. We were not part of the appointment of the new municipal manager and our demands are clear. We do not want the corporate manager and we also want the political leadership to go," he said.

Other developments also occurred at the municipality when angry protestors allegedly had an altercation with the new municipal manager (MM) at her office on Monday. A fight allegedly ensued, which led to charges being laid against SAMWU members by the MM.

After an outcry by the community, which needs service, the municipality went on to seek an interdict against staff not reporting for work. On Tuesday, the mayor, accompanied by the police and other officials, went out and opened the water supply that was closed at Nandoni and also at the Vondo water scheme.

A "no work, no pay" stand was also adopted, with warnings being issued that those who did not return to work would be dealt with by the law. An interdict was also obtained against the striking workers. By Wednesday, many areas still did not have any water, despite the assurance that it would be available everywhere.

Vhembe Executive Mayor Tshitereke Matibe said they had followed all the correct protocols in the appointment of the new manager. "When the process started, we were very courteous as we went the extra mile to invite the unions, even though we were not obliged by law to do so. SAMWU refused to be part [of it] and we followed all the processes until we appointed the new municipal manager. We are now surprised to see them stopping work."

He added that they "feel there is something more [to the situation] than the appointment [of the new MM] and we are worried that it is affecting our community adversely and we are not happy about that".

Matibe said now that they had the court order they would take other measures than the "no work, no pay" stance. He mentioned that they were allowed by law to employ temporary staff "and we will also employ the services of security companies and the police to ensure that those returning to work are not intimidated."

The ANC in the Vhembe region has also joined the fray, saying that, inasmuch as they were not happy about the way things were going in Vhembe, they were worried that the community was suffering. The regional secretary, Khathu Netshifhefhe, said they were worried about the situation and would meet to chart the way forward.

At the time of our going to press, community members were still being turned away as there were no people to help them at the municipality. Thulamela SAMWU leader Makonde Nemasetoni said the situation was tense. "As we speak now, a new security company has been employed and they are armed with sjamboks to intimidate us. The court order does not concern us and that is the reason we have not changed," he said.

One angry woman, who said she had spent days without water, even though she had money, took out buckets from her car and drew water from a tap at the municipal offices. "This is killing us. We have money, but we still cannot get water. We spent the whole weekend without water and it was unbearable as we use flushing toilets.We had to go to nearby bushes to relieve ourselves."

She mentioned that, not long ago, water staff at the municipality had been on strike "and we suffered for almost three weeks without water, and now this. We are really fed-up as the community," she said.

Thohoyandou police spokesperson Const Avhafarei Tshiovhe confirmed that a common assault case had been opened at the police station.  "A woman employee of the municipality alleges that seven people arrived at her office and assaulted her," she said.