Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Cllr Ruanda Meyer and Sesotho soundbite by Cllr Lebohang Chalala. See attached pictures here and here.
The DA in Metsimaholo will write to the Metsimaholo administration, calling for urgent action to address the ongoing and unacceptable disruptions to refuse collection services across the municipality.
Yesterday, residents were once again left to suffer the consequences of a municipality that is failing to deliver the services they pay for. For the third consecutive week, residents in parts of VaalPark did not receive their refuse collection as scheduled on Wednesday.
This ongoing failure is understandably causing frustration and anger among residents, who rightfully feel that they are paying for a service that is not being delivered.
Each week, I follow up with the Waste Management Department on the status of its compactor fleet. Week after week, the response remains the same: “Councillor, we don’t have enough trucks. They are in the mechanical workshop, and we are running short of vehicles.”
While mechanical breakdowns can occur, the continued failure to provide an effective solution is unacceptable. The municipality cannot keep using the same explanation week after week without presenting a clear, workable plan to restore reliable refuse collection.
Despite numerous engagements and repeated calls for the administration to explain how it intends to resolve this ongoing crisis, no clear solution has been provided.
The accumulation of uncollected waste also poses a serious health and environmental risk to our communities and cannot continue.
We will continue to pressure the Metsimaholo administration to take urgent action, address failures within the waste fleet.
With the Local Government Election approaching, residents should vote for a municipality that works. Our manifesto commits to fixing refuse collection through better fleet maintenance, greater accountability, and practical solutions that ensure residents receive the basic services they pay for.
Residents deserve better. They deserve reliable services, accountability and a municipality that delivers on its responsibilities.