Johannesburg - While political parties are at loggerheads to hold the highest positions in Gauteng municipalities, residents are drowning in filth due to uncollected waste, pothole-infested roads, long grass, sewerage, water challenges and power cuts.
With the little or no delivery of services mostly felt by the City of Ekurhuleni, it does not look like the problems will be addressed any time soon.
Newly elected Joburg mayor Thapelo Amad has promised to prioritise service delivery; he replaced Mpho Phalatse, who was ousted last month after a motion of no confidence against her. This power struggle immensely affected service delivery.
Residents of Slovoville have been without electricity for almost two years now; they are also subjected to endangering their lives when driving on roads that are filled with large potholes.
“We must get the basics right: stabilise the city’s finances; fix our roads, potholes, and traffic lights; cut grass along our roads and streets regularly; and undertake maintenance of our infrastructure,” said Amad.
A power struggle in Ekurhuleni saw a motion of no confidence against council speaker Raymond Dhlamini, the resignation of the whip of council, Khetha Shandu, and the resignation of the oversight chairperson, Pieter Henning.
The City of Ekurhuleni mayor, Tania Campbell, is likely next to be axed; reports suggest that soon she might face a second dose of a motion of no confidence.
All these changes in the metro affect service delivery.
Driving in parts of Benoni, Brakpan, Alberton and Thokoza, one cannot ignore the waste lying around the open spaces and the roads.
The city confirmed that waste collection in some parts experienced interruptions due to fleet breakdowns, but said Thokoza was up to date according to the collection schedule.
However, Nomzamo Cindi from Ext 5 in Thokoza told The Star that the non-collection of waste had forced residents to resort to illegal dumping, which she said posed hazards to her health as well as that of her neighbours.
“The waste collection truck rarely comes to collect waste from our side. Now people have resorted to dumping waste on the open space near my house. This is very dangerous because whenever there is wind, the rubbish is blown towards my yard, and it stinks. This is not healthy; our leaders in Ekurhuleni must put us first by providing services that we deserve,” Cindi said.
Last month, City Manager Dr Imogen Mashazi wrote to Campbell requesting the city council to work together to find a political solution.
“Our city is facing unprecedented challenges, and it is only through political collaboration and unity that we can overcome them and avoid any potential civil unrest. I humbly urge the city council to prioritise the needs of our residents and to put aside any personal or political differences to work towards a common goal. The well-being of our city and her residents should always come first, and it is my hope that the city council will act accordingly,” Mashazi wrote.
Ekurhuleni Metro spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said the city had a challenge with the management of the Environmental Waste Management Department in general, which led to the almost complete collapse of the service.
Dlamini said the problem was noticed in the later part of the year after they received numerous complaints about a lack of waste removal services.
“This led to the head of the department being put on suspension and a task team (being) set up to normalise the situation,” Dlamini said.
He added: “Initial investigations revealed that the main causes of the problems in the department were questionable management styles, an ageing fleet and, in some instances, late payments to service providers. This led to backlogs, which we had to deal with throughout the festive season.”
Dlamini said service had improved tremendously and continued to improve as the task team continued to look at better ways to normalise things.
“Among the major interventions proposed with immediate effect is the buying of a new fleet, which will be more reliable. That item is among the main items expected to be adopted by the council soon. There is also a move to install gadgets on the trucks that will assist the city to manage their daily movement and operations to ensure that all rounds are covered on a daily basis,” he said.
Dlamini said the city apologised for the inconvenience.
“We understand the frustration of ratepayers and residents of the city. We are doing our best to address this regrettable situation,” he said.
The Star