The Rand West City Local Municipality (RWCLM) has in the past five weeks experienced a series of service disruptions due to a workers’ strike that resulted in various communities being directly affected in some way or other.
In order to mitigate the situation and move towards resolving this problem, a number of engagements with the Unions and other Stakeholders took place.
Brenda Mahuma, Executive Mayor of Rand West City, acknowledged the impact of the strike action on the City and wished to reassure the community that every effort will be made to reinstate stability.
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“Let me take this opportunity to inform the community that, following the recent engagement of all stakeholders regarding the disruption of services to our residents, I can assure you that the running of the municipality is back to normal, with effect from 30 September.
“Workers are back at work and it is all systems go. I wish to apologise to the people of Rand West City for the inconvenience they experienced during the instability within the institution. I further thank the community for the patience they exercised during this period.”
She added that a meeting was held on 29 September in Braamfontein, at the request of COSATU. At the meeting, COSATU and its affiliate SAMWU, as well as the RWCLM Political Management Team, agreed that the dismissal process against the 700 employees who embarked on an unprotected strike would be put in abeyance, and COSATU would ensure that striking workers will abide by the court order and return to work.
“This was done in order to create a conducive environment for services to be delivered to the communities.
“I extend my gratitude to the ANC, COSATU, the RWCLM Troika members, MMCs, councillors and those members of the community who continuously engaged and encouraged us tirelessly throughout the process. All your initiatives are recognised, and contributed to bringing stability and solutions back to our beautiful City. Let us sustain this relationship in order to build a better Rand West City moving forward.”
The Mayor further highlighted the following progress made as of 1 October 2019:
• Refuse collection has been done according to the normal schedule and arrangements will be made for work to continue beyond normal hours to try and address the backlog
• The landfill sites in Westonaria and Randfontein are operational, with service providers having been called back on site
• Illegal dumping is being attended to with a focus on the CBDs, the main roads, public areas and around the Rand West Municipality’s main building
• Standby teams will continue to work until the situation has stabilised
• Sewer spillages are being addressed in Mohlakeng, Greenhills, Badirile, and Toekomsrus. External service providers are assisting in fast-tracking the backlog
