Service delivery chaos as metro workers strike

“Workers that reported for duty in certain regions are still being physically threatened by striking workers.”

August 7, 2020

Noxolo Sibiya 2 minutes read

Elrina Oelofse's yard is flooded with sewage. Photos supplied

Raw sewage, uncollected rubbish and dumped garbage were the reality for many Pretoria east residents because of a strike by municipal workers this past week.

According to the Tshwane metro, the strike had a devastating impact on services such as water and sanitation, energy and electricity as well as the re-gravelling of roads.

Other services impacted by the strike included the suspension of the bus services, closure of some customer-care walk-in-centres and a clinic.

Workers who reported for duty in some regions were allegedly being physically threatened, while their offices were forcefully closed down by striking workers.

Numerous water and sanitation teams also failed to report for duty, causing reported cases to be unattended to.

ALSO READ: ‘We are not on strike’ says union as metro service delivery collapses

Sewage has been flowing from a communal drain at a residence in Garsfontein on Maynard Street since Monday.

The drain located in Elrina Oelofse’s home has been overflowing in their garden, flooding their lapa and seeping through walls right into their neighbour’s swimming pool as well as another nearby property.

“It has been overflowing since Monday, and nothing has been done about it,” she said, adding that all she got from the metro was a reference number.

Oelofse said the problem occurred monthly, and no one had a long-term solution to the problem.

“We are logging calls almost every month. The system needs an urgent upgrade but that is all we hear.”

She said the smell was unbearable.

Previously, Oelofse said they had a sewage ditch about a metre-deep in their backyard.

ALSO READ: VIDEO: Tshwane wage protest affects metro service delivery

She said they normally waited for two days before someone arrived to open the pipes, but this time around, they had gone for longer.

Bus services in the metro were suspended for most of the week, and the bus depots had to be secured to prevent striking workers from using them to block roads as had happened previously.

Waste collection has been disrupted, and in some regions, it has been totally suspended.

In Menlo Park, the garden refuse site on 26th Street was closed, prompting garden service providers to dump their refuse at the entrance and across the street.

Because of the strike the people who had to clean the area could not gain access, according to local ward councillor Siobhan Muller.

“The refuse is being dumped along the pavement right down to Justice Mohamed Street,” she said.

“Even when the strike is over, they are going to have to clear the entrance first to get inside.”

She said she received reports of sewage that has been leaking for two weeks, in Moroelana and Hazelwood.

“There is also a block of houses in Ashlea Gardens that are flooding in sewage,” she said.

“The city is a mess.”

DA Tshwane mayoral candidate Randall Williams called on the administrators and the provincial government to ensure that police were urgently deployed to monitor and protect all important infrastructure in the city.

The Tshwane metro has obtained a court order against protesting workers.