“Enough is enough,” that is the message from Fourways resident Peter Tuck, who said residents can no longer be expected to pay for refuse removal services that are not consistently delivered by the City of Johannesburg’s waste entity, Pikitup.

His comments come amid ongoing service disruptions, which Pikitup has linked to an unlawful work stoppage at the Randburg depot that began on January 15.

Read more: Pikitup trucks torched in Diepsloot amid dispute over casual workers’ employment

The stoppage involves demands by casual workers for permanent employment and is currently being addressed through official legal and governance channels.

Some residents resorted to paying for private waste collections, but Tuck said that won’t solve the problem.

“The reality is that as citizens and residents, we have all paid the City of Johannesburg for this service; we’ve given them money,” Tuck said.

“If you want to give me a thousand rand to do something and then I just put it in my pocket and don’t give you what you paid me for, would you be happy with me? Would you accept it? So, my question is: Why do we, as residents and citizens of South Africa, basically accept the same thing from the City of Johannesburg?

“Either they should refund everybody and allow the citizens and residents to take that money and pay private collectors to do the job, or they should provide the service. At some point in time, the residents need to say enough is enough, and that’s simply the point I’m trying to make.”

Tuck said that this would not be tolerated in any commercial enterprise. “You know, this would not happen in any form of business because it’s illegal, yet we, the residents, allow the City of Johannesburg to conduct and do illegal things.

Also read: Pikitup flags ongoing dumping crisis in Farmall

“When do we say enough is enough?”

Ward 94 councillor David Foley said he is having a nightmare as the three affected Pikitup sites are all in his ward. “It is hard. I understand why the residents complain because it would have been better if they had been getting updates from the entity. I, too, have been escalating these on behalf of the residents, but so far, no solid feedback.

“The big estates and some residents who could no longer take it anymore have resorted to hiring private waste collectors. But where are they dumping them, because as far as we know, the landfills are also closed?”

Foley advised residents to adopt recycling habits so that such incidents don’t hit them as hard like it does now.

Pikitup was asked to comment on the situation, but no comment was received at the time of publication. An update will be provided once available.

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