THE degeneration of the refuse collection services in Nelson Mandela Bay is leading to councillors being inundated with calls of outrage from residents across the city.
The complaints are not isolated to any one area – refuse is piling up in wards from KwaNobuhle, Uitenhage, the Northern Areas, Motherwell, New Brighton and the so-called suburban areas.
Councillor Athol Trollip, DA NMB caucus leader said, “Refuse collection staff are notorious for poor service delivery and they regularly embark on unlawful strikes and go-slows. President Cyril Ramaphosa recently made very disparaging comments about how dirty the city is.”
In 2017 and 2018, during the tenure of the DA-led coalition government, Nelson Mandela Bay won environmental prizes for its efforts at cleaning up the city.
Public Health management staff and workers that were suspended previously, have all been reinstated under the leadership of executive mayor Mongameli Bobani.
“The impact of this unlawful meddling is having a profound effect on the performances of the directorate as management and workers act with impunity,” said Trollip.
“This situation does not only exacerbate the inefficiency of the department, it has also resulted in driving up the overtime costs as staff sabotage vehicles and scheduled collection programs.
This is being done in order for staff to conduct their work after official work hours and on weekends,” said Trollip.
The municipality has in the meantime launched a cleaning and greening project, being funded to the tune of R100 million over the next three financial years.
