Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Cllr Louis van Heerden and Sesotho soundbite by Cllr Stone Makhema.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Metsimaholo Local Municipality will write to the Municipal Manager and the Waste Management Department to secure urgent intervention following the ongoing disruption of waste collection services affecting residents across the municipality.
The DA has repeatedly raised concerns with the Waste Management Department regarding irregular waste collection and the failure to ensure that residents’ waste bags are collected as required.
Residents are increasingly frustrated as waste continues to go uncollected due to disputes with the appointed service provider. Once again, communities are being forced to bear the consequences of administrative failures, with a basic municipal service compromised.
Waste collection is an essential municipal responsibility, and residents should not suffer because of disputes between the municipality and contractors. The municipality has an obligation to ensure that proper contingency measures are in place to prevent interruptions to critical services.
The DA has consistently highlighted ongoing failures in Metsimaholo’s waste management system, including challenges with refuse removal, illegal dumping, overflowing waste areas, and a lack of effective planning and oversight within the Waste Management Department.
The DA calls on the Municipal Manager and relevant departments to urgently provide residents with:
- A clear plan to resolve the dispute with the appointed contractor and restore uninterrupted
service delivery;
- A time-bound action plan to reinstate normal waste bag collection services;
- An urgent programme to address and remove illegal dumping sites across communities;
- Regular communication and updates to all affected residents; and
- Accountability measures to ensure that similar service disruptions are prevented in future.
Residents pay for municipal services and deserve reliable, efficient, and dignified waste management services. The municipality has a responsibility to act and ensure that communities are not left to deal with the consequences of poor planning and administrative failures.
The DA will continue to monitor this matter, raise residents’ concerns, and hold the municipality accountable until a sustainable solution is implemented.