Not planning for the future will keep Joburg residents disappointed

Even as half of Joburg had to go for as long as 30 hours without water over the past weekend – and Rand Water was fighting over the cause with Joburg Water – thousands of households across the city watched for days on end as their rubbish bins were not collected.

Was this yet another sign of a gradual collapse of infrastructure and services in the country’s richest metro, or was it, as garbage agency Pikitup (and take that whichever way you want it) explained, merely down to the implementation of new fleet contracts?

Pikitup spokesperson Muzi Mkhwanazi said the reason for the delays was that there were “new people who came in to assist did not understand the logistics”.

It is unbelievable that no one in the structures of Pikitup, or in the companies awarded the new fleet contracts, thought that leaving people in the dark about how the organisation’s logistics operate would be a good thing… or that it could cause problems.

That, right there, is one of the biggest problems in multiple government or parastatal organisations across the country – the inability to plan for the future or to make contingency plans.

In many cases, this is because the cadre-deployed people running such organisations are either incompetent or more focused on making a little corrupt cash on the side… or both.

Pikitup’s social media department also, apparently, knocked off on Friday afternoon, leaving the company’s clients with a series of promises about collection which were, in many cases, plain lies.

While this situation may indeed be an isolated incident, it does not speak well of the competence of anyone involved.

More worryingly, though, it may be a symptom of a deeper problem or malaise… which could see these sort of disruptions becoming commonplace.

Residents pay for these services – and they deserve to be served properly.