Herman Marshaba promised to bring about positive change in the City of Joburg Municipality if he was elected as Mayor.
Barely a week after he was elected as the new Executive Mayor, he is planning his first major change in the Metro.
On 27 August, he announced his intention to privatise the City’s refuse service, Pikitup. This is a bold move and residents of Roodepoort and surrounding areas could be heavily affected by the outcome and implementation of this decision.
Mashaba made it clear that he wants to divide Pikitup into smaller divisions and hand it over to private businesses which he believes would serve the City better.
According to him, this is the best way to end the strike-ridden entity’s monopoly. He believes that if rubbish removal were managed by free marketers the job would be done better.
He also said that none of Pikitup’s 4 500 workers would lose their jobs; furthermore, he will ensure that more people are hired to keep the city clean.
The new Mayor’s decision was made after the previous Pikitup strike created a public health hazard and endangered both citizens and economy.
Mashaba could be faced with many obstacles in his effort to implement his plans for change, especially from the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and trade unions such as the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) and the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu).
Papike Mohale, the spokesperson for Samwu, said the union is strongly opposed to the privatisation of a municipal entity. According to him, such a move will lead to increases in service costs which many residents cannot afford.
He also warned that the municipal workers will be forced to defend their own should Mashaba continue with this plan.
To shed light on what this would mean in terms of service delivery to Roodepoort residents, the Record contacted Jacky Mashapu, the spokesperson for Pikitup, for comment. He said, “We have noted your inquiry. We however reserve the right to comment on this matter.”
The office of Executive Mayor Herman Mashaba was also contacted to shed more light on the process, implementation and impact of this plan.
As soon as the Record receives this information, readers will be updated.
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