Workers at Magareng Local Municipality are afraid to return to work after a Cape cobra was reportedly spotted in the municipal building.
WORKERS at Magareng Local Municipality are afraid to return to work after a Cape cobra was reportedly spotted in the municipal building on Wednesday.
The deadly snake was apparently spotted in the municipal chambers by a municipal auditor and it then slithered into the toilets.
Most of the municipal workers had already left earlier in the day to attend a memorial service, except for the auditors, who usually work late.
Following the discovery of the snake on Wednesday, the team fled the building.
On Thursday morning, the snake was nowhere to be found.
A bite from a Cape cobra is life-threatening and needs urgent medical care. The workers did not attend work on Friday as they are afraid of the snake.
The snake was spotted a day before the workers planned to down tools in a bid to remove top officials from their offices.
The workers were demanding answers after reports that R900,000 went missing from the municipal coffers.
The workers were further angered by their delayed salary payments, which they only received on October 6 instead of at the end of September.
A letter was reportedly written to the mayor, the chief whip, the acting municipal manager and the MTEC chairperson, to speed up the process of investigating the matter and calling for anybody linked to the disappearance of the funds to be suspended with immediate effect.
The workers also wanted the CFO to be removed from office as they claim it is the third time in a row that they have experienced a delay in the payment of their salaries.
The plan of action that was set for Thursday instead resulted in engagements between the workers and management on the matter.
Magareng Municipality spokesperson Thapelo Jacobs had not responded to media enquiries by the time of publication.
