The Patriotic Alliance in Nelson Mandela Bay says it will be taking the Municipality to court over what it says is its discriminatory employment equity policy.
The PA's national chairperson, Marlon Daniels, announced this at a media briefing earlier on Thursday.
He was joined at the briefing by one of the Municipality's long-standing communications officials, Kupido Baron, who alleges racial discrimination in the Metro where coloured people, in particular, are being marginalised.
Daniels says court papers will likely be filed next week.
Meanwhile, in his personal statement, Baron says he's been repeatedly overlooked for top positions, even after being shortlisted for the position of Communications Director in 2016.
Baron, who joined the Municipality in 2005 after working as a journalist, said despite not getting the position he continued to improve his skills and qualifications.
He claims that when the position became vacant again earlier this year, he was not even on the shortlist.
Baron alleges that the Municipality stated in an e-mail that his race (as a coloured person) was the reason for his omission from the shortlist and not his qualifications.
When approached for comment, the MMC for Corporate Services and Human Resources, Annette Lovemore, said the Department of Employment and Labour insists that the Metro base its employment equity plan on national or provincial demographics.
She said this resulted in a heavily prejudicial bias against, particularly, the employment of coloured people who represent 10% of the province's population, but 23% of the Metro population.
Lovemore says ever since they have been in government they have been fighting this issue to apply Metro demographics.
She says this matter is currently being argued internally with the Department of Labour that (i) they must only use metro demographics, and (ii) employment equity targets must only come into play at the end of the selection process, and then only if two candidates are found equally fit for purpose for the advertised position.
She concluded that a recent workshop was held during which the NMBM’s case was put forward, but strongly countered by the Department of Labour.
