Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Cllr Dirk Kotze and Sesotho soundbite by Jafta Mokoena MPL. See attached pictures here, here, here, and here.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Mangaung is deeply concerned about the ongoing and widespread backlog in refuse collection across the metro, which escalated over the festive season and remains unresolved.
In many wards, refuse has not been collected for weeks, with rubbish piling up in front of residents’ yards, creating serious health and environmental risks.
An urgent email sent to the Executive Mayor on 13 January requesting urgent action has yet to receive a reply. This contrasts with the mayor’s recent public events, including the welcome of the Chinese Consul General at Sediti Secondary School for an ICT equipment handover. While these efforts are essential, residents expect the same urgency in resolving the refuse collection crisis affecting public health.
The backlog has been attributed to overtime disputes, diesel shortages, and the continuous breakdown of refuse collection trucks. Residents are paying the price for poor planning, weak fleet management, and operational instability within the Department of Solid Waste.
It is particularly troubling that while large parts of Mangaung continue to experience uncollected refuse, the MMC for Community Services, Cllr Alfred Qai, led a clean-up campaign in Batho on Friday, 15 January, as part of the “Mangaung Letsema – Greening the Heart of Our City” programme, launched at Heroes Park in Batho.
The government has recognised the severity of the crisis. In August 2025, Deputy President Paul Mashatile launched the “Clean Cities and Towns Campaign” in Mangaung. Despite this, service delivery continues to decline. The campaign launch cost R56,870 for catering and R54,014.52 for other expenses of taxpayers’ money.
While environmental initiatives are welcomed, they cannot be prioritised above the delivery of basic services, as residents in other suburbs were sitting with refuse piling up outside their homes.
Reports that a refuse truck broke down during this period raise questions about whether it was diverted to the Batho campaign rather than servicing areas with critical backlogs. If true, this reflects flawed resource allocation.
The DA also remains concerned about diesel supply problems, including incidents in May 2025 when diesel was not delivered on time and was allegedly contaminated, as well as concerns that contractors are not being paid timeously.
DA councillors are demanding an urgent, ward-based action plan from the Head of Department for Solid Waste, detailing how the backlog will be cleared before the end of this week. Mangaung residents deserve consistent basic services across all wards.
We will continue to hold the Executive Mayor and MMC accountable until refuse collection is stabilised across the metro.