EMFULENI. – The Democratic Alliance (DA) says it has been left appalled following the complete breakdown of routine household waste collection by Emfuleni Local Municipality.

According to the DA Emfuleni Shadow MMC for Public Works Dady Mollo, the situation has escalated in the past three months.

“The DA is appalled by the state of the heart of Sebokeng and neighboring areas.

This unfortunate development underscores the Emfuleni Local Municipality’s stark failure in delivering a basic and essential service.” Mollo states that the absence of routine waste collection not only tarnishes the cleanliness of communities but also sparks genuine concerns about public health and the far-reaching environmental impact.

In a statement, Mollo expressed that the failure in service delivery in ELM lays bare the hypocrisy of the ANC in government, revealing a disregard for the dignity of South Africans. “Based on the latest information, the root cause of this dire situation is malfunctioning and un-serviced refuse trucks. 40 Sebokeng depot staff members are unable to fulfill their daily duties due to the unavailability of waste trucks.

“It is unacceptable that residents must endure hardship due to the ANC’s inability to address this fundamental issue. This situation underscores the party’s neglect of the well-being and dignity of the South African people, while completely forgetting about the residents of smaller towns, like Emfuleni,” Mollo stated.

In 2023, ELM admitted to having challenges with waste collection across various areas in the municipality.

The municipality has not been able to collect household waste across the municipality as scheduled because its Waste Department has a limited number of rear-end loader compactor trucks in operation and this had severely affected service delivery.