Your rubbish is your problem, municipality allegedly tells residents

Govan Mbeki Municipality in Mpumalanga has been unable to collect and remove rubbish over the past few weeks due to repeated technical difficulties with their trucks, Ridge Times reports.

In a statement released on Monday, April 2 the municipality offered their apologies for the lack of service delivery.

“The municipality would like to offer its sincere apology to the community of Govan Mbeki Municipality for the nonremoval of waste over the past weeks, which has caused an enormous backlog for the municipality – this is as a result of multiple breakdowns and slow repairs that we have been experiencing. We are working round the clock to address the backlog with a very limited fleet of trucks and to date we have removed 50 percent of the waste throughout the municipality with the target of achieving 100 percent by the end of the week. As soon as the backlog has been cleared, the municipality believes they will be able to resume with scheduled removals.”

The municipality confirmed that most of their waste removal trucks were experiencing mechanical problems. It has 22 removal trucks, but only eight are in a working condition.

Fourteen waste removal trucks have not yet been repaired. The fact that there are only eight trucks available to cover the entire Govan Mbeki Municipality explains the delays in waste removal experienced by residents.

READ MORE:Merafong municipality says there is ‘no fuel shortage’

When asked what residents should do about the rubbish piling up, the municipality allegedly explained that waste was the responsibility of the one who generated it.

“Refuse does not belong to the municipality, and it remains the responsibility of the resident to take uncollected waste back into his yard until it can be collected.”

The municipality also indicated that no municipal accounts would be amended due to the lack of service delivery, as households pay a once-off tariff per month, and not for weekly removal.

“In terms of service standards, the municipality can collect up to four times a month.”

Residents also cannot claim back the cost of private refuse removal services from the municipality.

“If a resident decided to make use of a private company to remove its waste, it is the resident’s own choice and own account. Residents can also make use of the municipal landfill site free of charge and the cost to maintain the site is gained from the refuse removal tariff. There will be no rebates.”

– Caxton News Service

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