Investigations into the possible internal sabotage in the Ekurhuleni Department of Waste and Sanitation continue.

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And despite residents’ grievances about the lack of refuse collection, the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) reminded ratepayers that by-laws state that “residential households on which domestic waste is generated shall use municipal collection services only”.

Mayoral spokesperson Warren Gwilt said on September 29 that the city was making progress on clearing the refuse removal backlog.

For several weeks residents of CoE have not received services as far as waste collection is concerned.

André du Plessis, MMC of Environment and Waste Management, previously stated that the waste department was investigating the allegations of internal sabotage that caused vehicles to break down shortly after being repaired.

Gwilt confirmed that the investigation is still ongoing.

Whilst CoE claimed to be in control of the situation residents in parts of Germiston disagreed and expressed their grievances regarding waste not being collected.

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Residents of Fishers’ Hill and Symhurst were the latest group to approach the media with their grievances.

Resident Debbie Rossouw from Fishers’ Hill said her waste has not been collected for two weeks.

“This is a service we are charged for, irrespective of whether the service is rendered or not.

“I placed my bin outside for more than 10 days, hoping that our refuse will be collected – only to be disappointed yet again,” said Rossouw.

“Honestly this is not fair,” she said, adding that she feels that some areas are treated as more important than others.

“Yes, there are reports of suspected sabotage, but that is the task of the municipality to investigate and they must put measures in place to ensure obligations to the community are timeously met,” said Rossouw.

“We don’t see any solution for the ongoing issues and it is problematic and a disaster. Instead of services rendered, we have filth and refuse to pile up because people with overflowing bins have been dumping all over.

This attracts pests that we have to control at all costs. It creates an unsafe environment as people are roaming our streets daily. Bins get stolen as we place them outside every day with great anticipation and return them to our yards with great disappointment,” said Rossouw.

She said some community members had to replace their bins at least once in recent years.

“If we do, by some miracle get a truck, to eventually come past, the excess bags of piled up refuse for two weeks and more will not fit into a single bin.

“Bags left outside will not be collected by refuse removers and we will need to take them back into our yards,” she said.

“Some residents have resorted to paying an external service to collect and dump their waste at the dumping sites.

“Would the city manager or councillors be happy living in these conditions? Would they accept being charged for a service not rendered? The answer is simply no.”

Rossouw demanded that CoE place skip bins for streets to share to allow residents to wheel and empty bins into the skip.

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“We also feel that we are entitled to credit on our accounts for weeks of refuse not collected by no fault of our own.

“The ratepayers should not bear the brunt of internal municipal issues such as sabotage. After all, we pay for our services,” Rossouw said.

Ekurhuleni’s response

CoE spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said the city experienced an unusual increase in the number of breakdowns of waste removal trucks.

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This resulted in a backlog.

“Arrangements were made to clear backlogs and allow for weekly refuse removal,” Dlamini said.

CoE replied that strategies put in place to address the waste collection problems are:

• The establishment of a departmental task team to work with the transport and fleet department and the central procurement office to fast-track orders for units to be repaired and released back into circulation.

• The department has amplified the provision of the fleet by launching the available, as and when required, plant hire contract.

• Internal resources will be deployed to hot spot areas.

• Waste management, through investigations of a maintenance lease programme, will aim to address the challenges of ageing fleet causing backlogs.

• Procuring four new compactors to assist in critical areas.

“Currently the refuse removal fleet is not sufficient thus the rotation of available resources per depot is not possible and services cannot be rendered during the week as scheduled,” said Dlamini.

An efficient and effective waste collection service is affected by:

• An ageing fleet which is vulnerable to mechanical breakdowns as a result of wear and tear.

• Prolonged turnaround times for the repairs of waste management specialised vehicles.

• Excessive distance travelled from waste collection points to disposal sites resulting in long turnaround times in the disposal of waste thus reducing the collection period.

• Non-capitalisation of specialised vehicles and compactors.

“The department could not procure these units due to insufficient budget. The situation per depot will improve as more vehicles are released from the workshop.

“Arrangements to pull resources together to attend to backlogs, in areas where no services can be provided during the week, are underway to provide services in those areas during weekends.”

Dlamini said CoE has a procurement process in place which must be adhered to when sourcing service providers to render specific services to the municipality.

As a result, private waste pickers who are not contracted to the city cannot be paid by the city for services rendered.

“The city utilises compactors that are made available via an ‘as and when’ agreement. Some areas are serviced through outsourced contractors,” said Dlamini.

“The department will conduct an assessment in Fishers’ Hill and Symhurst to establish waste management needs to be included in IDP and subsequently funds are provided in the 2023/24 budget for procurement of necessary items,” he said.

Gwilt said municipal waste removal services cannot be cancelled in terms of Chapter 8, Section 46 of the Integrated Waste Management By-laws, 2021.

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The bylaw states that “premises and residential households on which domestic waste is generated shall use municipal collection services only.

No written exemption to make use of private companies for domestic waste removal services can be made by such owners nor shall it be granted by the municipality”.

He added that in cases where the department still experiences vehicle breakdowns, the vehicle hiring contract is invoked to compliment where there are shortages.

These measures are augmented by weekend collections.

“If a Thursday collection does not take place, either a Saturday or Sunday collection will occur.

“Councillors must keep residents informed of these arrangements.

“Residents are encouraged to make use of the municipal dumpsites to dispose of garden refuse,” said Gwilt.