Tempers flared at a community meeting on Saturday afternoon, where Kempton Park residents received little to no answers about their waste woes.
“If we don’t see solutions fast, I will collect all the refuse myself and dump it at the municipality’s office,” one resident stated, which was met with applause by those attending.
“Our residents cannot live like this,” ward councillor Gideon van Zyl added.
The meeting at Café Aroma in Van Riebeeck Park was one of two meetings on the day the waste department promised to send representatives to, after hardly any bins were emptied in Kempton Park over the past few weeks.
“It has been a difficult six months for me. I started in August and waste management in Kempton Park is a big worry,” HOD for waste management Faith Mabindisa told those attending the meeting.
Why is refuse not removed?
Mabindisa attributed the current refuse crisis to multiple factors. One was lack of communication between departments and poor maintenance. “Just last week our fleet had no diesel,” she said, adding that such an issue was out of her hands. The same goes for when trucks break down.
Secondly, Mabindisa claimed that a lack of supervision and the promise of overtime was a major issue. “It doesn’t help we have the resources, but our employees don’t want to do the work.”
What will be done?
According to Mabindisa, a stop will be put to refuse collectors working slower to get overtime by removing the perk altogether. “Our fleet will be strongly supervised from now on,” she said.
She also claimed that written warnings were in place and employees who did not do their work properly would “simply be asked to leave”. However, no one has been dismissed so far.
As for the communication issue between departments, Mabindisa only said this must improve.
What about the backlogs?
Mabindisa stated that, as of Thursday, an additional contractor will be sourced to remove excess refuse in Kempton Park. “Three of our own trucks will also work to remove the bags, but give it a week,” she said.
She added that, due to the overflow, refuse removers were instructed to take all bags, even if they were not inside wheelies bins.
Will residents receive refunds for the lack of refuse removal?
No. Mabindisa tried to side-step this question but finally answered that the issue was being resolved, so residents could not receive refunds. She was unable to answer all the questions asked by residents but promised she would return with answers.
