The City of Joburg’s Executive Mayor, Herman Mashaba, has released a statement in reference to the current issues surrounding Pikitup in Midrand, as well as Diepsloot and Soweto.
Pikitup‘s services have been brought to halt for two weeks and extended the suspension of its waste collection services to the Midrand depot (as well as Orange Farm) after disgruntled work seekers violently threatened employees and blocked the access gates, as reported last week Saturday, 1 September.
Disgruntled jobseekers continued to forcefully demand jobs from Pikitup and further continued to threaten the lives of its employees.
Mashaba has stated that the interruption of the entity’s services is ‘without a doubt being politically motivated’.
“We have received intelligence from individuals that former temporary contract workers are being approached by political forces in an effort to instigate instability within the City’s cleaning services,” the statement read.
“Over the past two weeks, politically driven protests have taken place outside of Pikitup depots, mostly in Soweto and the Midrand, Diepsloot and Ivory Park areas. These protests have been driven in response to the City’s in-sourcing of contract worker spaces.”
Mashaba further stated that the City is sympathetic to the 900 000 people who are without work in Joburg, a human tragedy the multi-party government is determined to resolve. However, the government cannot be the employer of all those without work.
“Government … must focus on growing our economy in such a way that more people can find work in our City. For political forces to exploit this tragic situation for their narrow political ends is sinking to new depths of moral bankruptcy.”
See the full statement below:
The City of Johannesburg has suffered interruptions to Pikitup’s refuse removal services over the past two weeks is without doubt being politically motivated. pic.twitter.com/oqwxKHF6kC
— Herman Mashaba (@HermanMashaba) September 5, 2018
Also see:
https://www.citizen.co.za/midrand-reporter/200419/pikitup-suspension-affect-midrand-service-delivery/
https://www.citizen.co.za/midrand-reporter/200083/mashaba-fights-r170-billion-backlog/
https://www.citizen.co.za/midrand-reporter/200508/sa-officially-plunged-recession/
https://www.citizen.co.za/midrand-reporter/200537/common-effects-recession-need-know/
