Hope, scepticism over new cherry picker fleet
Certain councillors are convinced the new cherry picker fleet is merely a show.
The news of a new fleet of cherry pickers has been met with cautious optimism after the metro unveiled the new fleet of cherry pickers and reopened the Pretorius Park fleet workshop, following months of crippling shortages that hampered service delivery.
According to the metro, the move is aimed at reducing the municipality’s reliance on contractors and improving its capacity to deliver basic services.
Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya and MMC for Corporate and Shared Services Kholofelo Marodi officially received the fleet on Tuesday, June 3.
Ward councillors in the east have welcomed the move cautiously, pointing to long-standing delays caused by a shortage of functional cherry pickers across the metro.
Ward 56 Councillor Shaun Wilkinson said the impact of the shortage has been devastating.
“We’ve had nearly 3 000 non-functional streetlights in my ward alone, and repairs have been delayed for days simply because there was no cherry picker available,” he said.
Wilkinson added that the lack of cherry pickers meant Tshwane workers couldn’t switch lights on at the poles or attend to faults, even when labour was available.
“The main thing is, if you do not have the cherry picker, you can’t switch on the lights.
“We were already facing delays where ‘same-day service’ would take days. This made it worse,” he explained.
Although he acknowledged the significance of the new fleet, Wilkinson questioned whether it would be deployed effectively.
He added that seeing is believing. “If they could just turn the lights on in Sunnyside, I would believe they are using them optimally.”
He also disputed the claim that the new fleet would reduce reliance on contractors.
“The problem isn’t the contractors. The problem is within Tshwane.”
Ward 83 Councillor Andrew Lesch shared the same concerns about past delays, but expressed hope that the new cherry pickers would be put to good use.
“They must start with the massive number of non-functional streetlights in my ward,” Lesch said.
He pointed out that without the necessary equipment, metro workers were previously unable to cut overhead branches or fix transformers.
“Now that we have more cherry pickers, Tshwane can respond more efficiently, and workers can actually do the work.
“In the past, we had a problem where Tshwane workers could not attend to fixing or turning on transformers due to the shortage of cherry pickers.”
According to Marodi, the metro’s broader strategy involves restoring internal capacity and regaining control over service delivery by investing in its own resources.
“For years, basic services in Tshwane were handed over to external contractors, often at enormous expense to ratepayers,” she said.
“The result was slower turnaround times, poor accountability, and deteriorating service delivery.”
She said the reopening of the Pretorius Park depot gives the metro an operational hub to manage the growing fleet, particularly for critical departments like Water and Sanitation, Energy and Electricity.
Marodi added that the facility will reduce downtime and allow for faster repairs using internal staff.
She described the handover of the new fleet as a shift away from private interests and toward public value.
“This is part of our wider effort to fix the fundamentals of service delivery and get resources to the ground where they are most needed and ensure communities receive reliable, dignified services,” she said.
ALSO READ: Forum says ring-fencing property revenue will empower Eersterust
Do you have more information about the story?
Please send us an email to bennittb@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram
