The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has called for a total shutdown of services in the Vhembe District Municipality, Limpopo.
Photo: Bishop Baloyi
The trade union federation's deputy president Mike Shingage made the call during the joint funeral of the two assassinated leaders of the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) outside Thohoyandou on Saturday.
Shingage says workers will not return to work until officials linked to VBS looting are removed from office.
"You know them, you know their names. Those councillors must be removed, the mayoral committee must be changed. We must put people who have credibility, who can be trusted by the community and who can be trusted by our members."
Shingage also issued an ultimatum for police to arrest those behind the killing of the VBS critics within a week.
"They died because somebody somewhere said and planned, identified your name, hired the assasin, counted the bullets, pointed the assasin to where they will find them. It was a carefully planned, premeditated murder.
"We shall avenge the deaths. For as long as the law doesn't take it's course, we will defend ourselves, we will defend our leaders, we will defend our communities.”
The South African Communist Party’s (SACP) Solly Mapaila again condemned “the cowardly act of killing comrades”.
"It is a barbaric reaction towards the comrades' stance against corruption.
"The attacks, the harassment, the intimidation of our comrades in Samwu has led to the majority fleeing their homes, because of these criminals that inhabit our communities"
Timson Musetho and Ronald Mani were both shot in their homes.
