ActionSA and EFF dispute eThekwini Municipality’s security guard insourcing
The ActionSA and EFF in KwaZulu-Natal are at odds over what the latter called a victory regarding the insourcing of the eThekwini Municipality’s 500 security guards, who are currently sourced from various private companies.
The public spat between the two parties started after the EFF issued a statement over the weekend, claiming victory because the municipality succumbed to its demand for the city’s security guards to be insourced.
The EFF described the decision to insource as a landmark benefiting over 5,000 guards and their dependents, attributing it to its long and determined struggle.
“This achievement demonstrates that when the EFF enters centres of power, we do not seek comfort or positions, but we enter to fight for the interest of the people, particularly black workers,” read the statement.
The party, which holds a seat on the city’s Executive Committee through its Councillor Themba Mvubu, the Human Settlements, Engineering and Transport chairperson, said while it was celebrating victory, it would closely monitor the implementation.
However, ActionSA provincial leader Zwakele Mncwango responded by posting a voice clip and statement on his party’s media WhatsApp group, refuting the EFF’s victory claim.
Mncwango said there was no resolution from the city to insource the guards and that the council resolution merely instructed the Public Safety Department to undertake a comprehensive assessment and recommend to the council.
“The EFF has either failed to read the council agenda properly or is deliberately misleading workers and residents in an attempt to claim a victory that does not exist.
“This is simply not true (because) the council resolution adopted during the budget process does not approve the insourcing of security guards,” read Mncwango’s statement.
Mncwango also rejected EFF’s claim that it was the one that pushed for the insourcing, saying only his party had consistently tabled motions for the security guard insourcing.
“I have never seen a single motion by the EFF on insourcing, and if they say I am lying, let them present the motion, which they claim to have tabled and passed by the council. ActionSA is the only party that has ever tabled a motion in council regarding the insourcing of security guards.
“On June 20, 2023, ActionSA had a motion on insourcing, and that motion was passed by council, leading to a feasibility study conducted by officials. The report was signed on February 26, 2024, if I am not mistaken.
“There is a report on the feasibility study, which was done based on ActionSA’s motion and was submitted to the council,” he said.
The feasibility study report, released on February 2, 2024, recommended against insourcing the security guards due to the city’s financial constraints, as it would cost the city over R3 billion a year, whereas it was reported in 2024 that the city spends R1.3 billion in outsourcing.
EFF provincial secretary Vukani Ndlovu said Mncwango’s rejection of the EFF’s victory was electioneering ahead of the local government elections.
He said it was normal for the municipality to adopt a resolution without tabling a motion.
“When you are going to pass a budget in the IDP (Integrated Development Plan), there is a consultation process. Before the 2021 term, the EFF raised the insourcing issues, and we have done marches, engaged the municipality,” said Ndlovu.
He said during the consultation with ANC councillors, the EFF had threatened that it was not going to support the recent budget if security guards were not insourced.
“The municipality said it would start by insourcing a certain section of the security guards, and if it works, we will absorb all of them and allocate a budget for that, and this process must happen by October.
“Zwakele is just a populist demagogue who wants to be out there so people see him representing them because he is the very same person who did not vote for the very same budget, which we think must absorb the guards,” said Ndlovu.
On June 20, 2023, and on September 17, 2025, Mncwango addressed two motions to Speaker Thabani Nyawose, calling for insourcing because the council was spending a lot of money on private security companies.
The motions also described the tender system as the source of corruption, including inflated costs and delays in service delivery.
“Many of these services can be rendered effectively and efficiently by municipal employees through proper resourcing, training, and management.
“Outsourcing core municipal functions has weakened institutional capacity, undermined accountability, and eroded public trust in the municipality,” read Mncwago’s 2025 motion.
He said there was no way that the Exco could insource the guards without the resolution of the council.
“Exco recommends to the council, as it does not have the power to make decisions by law. Themba Mvubu in his speech said, ‘We are passing this budget because it is implementing insourcing’.
“But they were misleading the community because the municipality cannot implement something that is not budgeted for. How do you explain this to the Auditor-General? Where are you going to get the R3 billion, which was not budgeted?” said Mncwango.
The city has not yet responded to questions sent to it seeking confirmation of whether such a resolution was adopted.
