Call to insource guards over high outsourcing costs
The EFF Nkomazi Subregion urged Nkomazi Local Municipality to insource security guards after spending over R60M annually on outsourced services, noting private firms charge R24K+ per guard per month while paying workers R4K–6K. The appeal connects local budget stress with worker pay and service continuity questions for outsourced security contracts. (x.com/EFF_Nkomazi/status/2043586880743047291)
The Economic Freedom Fighters in Nkomazi are pressing the municipality to hire security guards directly instead of renewing outsourced contracts. (tiktok.com) The party’s local caucus leader, Mafia Fane, said in a council statement that Nkomazi Local Municipality spends more than R60 million a year on private security while guards take home about R4,000 to R6,000 a month. (tiktok.com) That push lands as Nkomazi is still putting security work out to tender. Bid notices published in February 2026 sought private providers for Zone One and Zone Two municipal facilities for 36 months. (etenders.gov.za, etenders.gov.za) Nkomazi is not arguing this in a strong-budget year. The municipality recorded a R154.7 million deficit in 2023/24, after a R501.5 million deficit in total operations before capital transfers, according to its published financial results. (municipalities.co.za) The municipality is also under provincial administrative support. Mpumalanga’s Department of Cooperative Governance said in June 2025 that it had seconded an acting municipal manager and started a Section 106 investigation into alleged maladministration, fraud, corruption and financial mismanagement. (mpg.gov.za) The security issue has also become a labour issue. An EFF Nkomazi post last month said guards employed by contractor Bright Securities had gone unpaid until after the party intervened. (tiktok.com) Insourcing means the municipality would put guards on its own payroll instead of paying a private company to supply them. The Economic Freedom Fighters are making that case nationally too through an Insourcing Bill that covers security, cleaning and maintenance services across the state. (enca.com, ewn.co.za) Nkomazi Local Municipality sits in Ehlanzeni District in Mpumalanga, with its main offices in Malelane, and is led by Executive Mayor Phindile P. Magagula, according to the provincial government directory. No municipal response to the insourcing call was available in the sources reviewed for this thread. (mpg.gov.za) The immediate question is whether Nkomazi keeps buying guard services in three-year blocks or decides the cheaper long-term option is to employ the guards itself. (etenders.gov.za, etenders.gov.za)
