VANDERBIJLPARK – Emfuleni Local Municipality’s rubbish crisis is spiralling out of control, and the DA says enough is enough.

This comes after the DA tabled a hard-hitting motion to force a debate on the municipality’s shocking failure to collect waste across most of its 45 wards.

According to DA Emfuleni Caucus Leader Nkosi Duncan Mthembu, piles of uncollected refuse, growing illegal dumping sites, and a near-collapsed fleet have pushed residents to a boiling point.

“The municipality is operating with only five waste trucks, and those only service Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging. Meanwhile, Sebokeng is left in the dirt, with contractors unable to begin work because they haven’t signed the Full Maintenance Lease (FML),” he said.

Mthembu said while the headache persists, residents are still being billed every month for waste collection that never happens.

“Waste at homes thus remains uncollected, but residents continue to be billed for this ‘service.’ At this point, it is tantamount to fraud,” he added.

Touching on the over-complemented Phakama Vaal campaign, launched by Executive Mayor Sipho Radebe and Gauteng MEC Jacob Mamabolo, he said, “The initiative promised a cleaner Vaal, but instead of progress, the number of illegal dumping sites has increased from 308 to more than 320. This was yet another ANCled failure, focused on optics, but no real solutions.”

The DA has now laid out a list of urgent interventions to rescue Emfuleni from the mounting rubbish nightmare, which includes:

• Buying 38 new waste compactor trucks, the minimum required to service all 45 wards weekly.

• Bring back daily waste collection in the CBD.

• Place skip bins at known dumping hotspots, backed by a strict collection plan.

• Install tracking devices on all trucks to stop misuse and ensure scheduled waste pickups.

According to the DA, these steps are the only way to restore a functioning waste management system and give long-suffering residents the clean, reliable service they deserve.