Ekurhuleni waste crisis: Campbell places head of waste department on special leave

Reinstated Ekurhuleni Mayor Tania Campbell has placed the metro’s head of the department for environmental resources and waste management on special leave.

Ekurhuleni waste crisis

Faith Wotshela was placed on leave over the waste crisis plaguing the municipality in the last two weeks that has left residents fuming and complaining over the lack of refuse collection.

The mayor’s spokesperson Warren Gwilt confirmed to The Citizen on Thursday the head of department (HOD) was placed on administrative leave for an indefinite period.

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He said the mayor had since appointed a task team to oversee a turnaround plan for the waste management department.

“We established a task team yesterday (Wednesday) with the city manager to get the ball rolling to get this waste issue resolved. And one of those plans has been placing the HOD on administrative leave,” Gwilt said.

ANC-sponsored no-confidence motion

Last month, Campbell, a Democratic Alliance councillor, was removed from office through an African National Congress-sponsored motion of no confidence.

She was successfully re-elected on Tuesday during a special council meeting after negotiations between the ANC and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) over a power-sharing deal failed.

Gwilt said during the two weeks that Ekurhuleni did not have an executive mayor, service delivery in the metro collapsed, especially refuse collection.

“There has been a collapse of waste collection in the city over the last two weeks and when the multiparty coalition was in office before the motion of no confidence, we were making great inroads into rectifying the problem of waste.

“In the two weeks that there has been a leadership vacuum in the city, all the work we had done started to collapse and now we have residents sitting for a long period of time without waste collection.”

Gwilt could not confirm whether Wotshela would face disciplinary action or how long she would be on special leave.

“I can’t confirm what the process will be because the task team has to go and see where the fault lies.

“So, if the fault is with the HOD, action will be taken. Whoever in the waste department is responsible for this collapse, that person will be disciplined,” he said.

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