Waste continues to pile up at Cedar Road Garden Site

Residents have expressed concern regarding the poor service delivery from Pikitup and their Cedar Road Garden Site.

Local resident Bruce Beevers said the site is the only garden site in the area and has been closed intermittently since August last year. The site has been filling up and workers on-site have reportedly told residents that they can’t accept any new waste.

Beevers added that the Pikitup waste collection has also been late or sometimes never shows up. When attempting to report the issue, Beevers said that he was told to take his waste to other sites around Johannesburg such as Bryanston and Woodmead.

Ward 94 councillor David Foley said, “I’m well aware of the issue and it stems from the lack of functional vehicles to take [waste] to the site and out of the site.”

Foley added that the issue has seen the waste continually grow at the Cedar Road site. “This has been an issue since last year. The trucks are continually breaking down and the issue has compounded over time and created a knock-on effect.”

He emphasised that the poor service delivery is failing the local community, however, the entity hopes to resolve it over time.

Spokesperson for Pikitup Muzi Mkhwanazi confirmed that the disruptions in service delivery from the entity stemmed from their consistent truck breakdowns.

He said that the City of Johannesburg appointed a service provider using Regulation 32 to assist the entity with fleet availability post the collapse of a normal procurement process that was instituted by the administration on behalf of the entity.

He added, “In order for Pikitup to effectively and efficiently deliver the service, it requires 155 units. Currently, Pikitup has 117 units that have long passed their useful life. The average availability of these trucks is 60 per cent. Pikitup also complements its own fleet with the use of an ad hoc fleet, which is privately owned.”

Mkhwanazi concluded that the entity is currently working to ensure new additions to their fleet and are anticipating the procurement to conclude in June this year, with an estimated lead time of 18 months for all stock to be delivered.

Details: www.pikitup.co.za

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