‘Lack’ of equipment reduces public spaces to eyesores

This situation is blamed on widespread problem of insufficient equipment and staff for maintenance services.

January 30, 2025

Fanie Mthupha 1 minute read

Overgrown grass on the verges along Rondebult Road.

Amid the wet weather spell, fast-growing grass and vegetation continue to invade public spaces, reducing them to eyesores and creating safety concerns.

While the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) has not yet responded to our request for updates on the city’s grass-cutting programme, information gathered from well-placed sources suggests a lack of staff and equipment breakdown hamper efforts to respond to the excessive grass growth.

A grass-cutting crew, with about four municipal workers, was on January 22 spotted cutting grass on the land along Rondebult Road in Ravenswood, but they later abandoned the task after cutting a small portion of the overgrown area. The grass still stands tall.

Among the facilities badly affected by this lack of maintenance equipment and staff is the Boksburg City Stadium, where workers said they have been battling to do maintenance optimally since the days of Covid-19 restrictions.
A source, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, said the stadium and other local public facilities lack PPE, and most of their grass-cutting equipment is not working.
They said this reflects the widespread problem of insufficient equipment and staff for maintenance services.

“These issues were reported to the city, but they keep saying the city has no money. And you asked yourself what happened to the money people pay when they book the stadium for events. This situation is making things very difficult for people using the facilities.”
Apart from the grass-cutting issue, the stadium toilets are in an awful state, and some floodlights are not working.

Also Read: Unpacking latest development in Ekurhuleni’s erratic grass-cutting, landfill sites services