Workers use pangas to cut bushes in Sundowner
Resident is tired of watching workers use pangas to cut bushes in parks because their equipment allegedly does not work.
Municipal workers spent a week cutting overgrown bushes with pangas, garden shears and other manual tools in Sundowner, apparently because their mechanised equipment was not working.
Resident David Strachan spotted the Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo workers in Sundowner Spruit Park, where just months before he found personnel cutting grass using slashers and travelling in vehicles with expired licence discs.
At that time – in March – he donated 10 litres of petrol to help them fill their grass cutters to have them working again.
“It makes no sense to me in the 21st century that a municipality does not have staff using modern equipment,” he told Randburg Sun after the latest incident.
“I saw the same ladies doing manual labour again. I asked them why and was told that they do have petrol but the machines are [not working]. I felt very sorry for them so I told the story to the Randburg Sun again. No one can be blamed for this except the senior management of City Parks who are obviously not keeping a finger on the pulse and are not maintaining the equipment so that most of it is in workshops being repaired.”
City Parks spokesperson, Tsholofelo Thedingoane was contacted by Randburg Sun about the incident and questions were sent to her.
In response, she said she would investigate and provide feedback. Her comments will be published as soon as they are made.
But after the incident in March, spokesperson Jenny Moodley said, “The use of manual tools, like a slasher, is common in the rollout of horticultural services, particularly to tackle hardy invasive plants and overgrowth. This also results in less downtime with machines.”
Related Article:
