DSW to address current collection issues at Collingwood Depot

OVER the past several months frustrated community members have complained about the poor services being rendered by the Durban Solid Waste (DSW) Collingwood Depot situated on the Bluff. According to ward 66 councillor, JP Prinsloo, issues such as uncollected refuse bags, illegal dumping and littering have become the norm even before the country went in to lockdown.

The depot services the Bluff, Yellowwoood Park, Bellair, Mayville, Chatsworth, Jacobs, Clairwood, Merebank, Merewent and Austerville areas. In July, ten local ward and PR councillors within the Collingwood district requested a meeting with senior management to discuss and address the ongoing issues within the district. A petition with more than 1000 signatures was also circulated to provide residents with an opportunity to pressure the city to act.

“On Tuesday, 11 August 2020 a meeting took place between councillors, the Deputy Head of DSW Operations, the District Senior Manager and all 10 Area Cleansing Officers (ACO). The purpose of the meeting was to: identify all the current challenges within the department and district, propose solutions and ensure that service are improved on the ground.

“As public representatives we highlighted five key issues identified by our community members. They are: 1) work stoppages, 2) consistent breakdown of vehicles, 3) poor communication from within the department, 4) illegal dumping and 5) consolidating refuse bags upon collection.

From the onset we made it clear that these issues need to be addressed but that we would do everything within our power as public representatives to assist the department in addressing their internal challenges and be their partner throughout the process instead of being an obstacle,” said Prinsloo.

He added that the DSW indicated that the majority of the challenges are as a result of their reliance on other municipal departments in awarding and purchasing key maintenance contracts as well as replacing their old fleet with new vehicles. “They are also currently streamlining their organigram to ensure that they drastically improve on their core mandate. This has come with multiple challenges and are the root cause of the recent work stoppages.

“With resources remaining the same within the department they are required to service more densified suburban areas and additional communities within the new city boundaries. Informal traders, vagrants and the increasing number of informal settlements have put a further strain on their budget. The Supply Chain Management Department is yet to finalise contracts for the cleaning of informal settlements and key fleet maintenance contracts. Delays in the purchasing of new refuse trucks are stalled within the City Fleet Department even though council approved millions of rands in the last financial year to purchase multiple refuse trucks to replace the ageing fleet.”

Responding to the challenges, local councillors proposed several interventions to ensure that each of these issues are addressed swiftly so that DSW officials had all the tools at their disposal to improve their services.

Members of the Human Settlements and Infrastructure (HSI) Committee, Cllr Aubrey Snyman and Cllr Tony Govender have written to the Chairperson of the HSI committee requesting that the delay of contracts and the purchasing of new refuse trucks be prioritised in the next Committee Agenda for debate. Cllr JP Prinsloo and Cllr Mabatho Thembe have written to the DA members of the City Executive Committee (EXCO) to raise these urgent delays with city leadership at the next EXCO meeting.

Issues surrounding illegal dumping and prosecuting offenders will be addressed with the DSW Education Section within the Department and will be driven by Cllr Gavin Hegter. DSW has also committed to improving its communication to councillors and the public in cases where services will be affected. “This intervention will provide community members with an opportunity to remove their refuse bags from the servitude if their are any delays with collection. As public representatives we remain is committed to ensuring that DSW pulls up its socks and provides communities with the services that they pay for,” said Prinsloo.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19. For any comments or queries, contact the National Group Editor, Irma Green at irma@caxton.co.za or the Legal Adviser, Helene Eloff at  helene@caxton.co.za.

DID YOU KNOW?
Click on the words highlighted in red to read more on this and related topics.
To receive news links via WhatsApp or Telegram, send an invite to 061 876 3179
The Southlands Sun is also on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest – why not join us there?

Do you have more information pertaining to this story?
Feel free to let us know by commenting on our Facebook page or you can contact our newsroom on 031 903 2341 and speak to a journalist.

To receive our free newsletter click here

(Comments posted on this issue may be used for publication in the Sun)