Question NW306 to the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

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11 April 2016 - NW306

Profile picture: Ross, Mr DC

Ross, Mr DC to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

(1)(a) How often does each metropolitan municipality collect household waste and (b) is it collected on a fixed schedule; if not, why not; (2) whether there were any disruptions of service or late removal of waste as a result of a failure by any municipality since 1 January 2015; if so, (a) what were the causes and (b) how has this been addressed?

Reply:

The information requested by the Honourable Member is not readily available within the Department. The Department thus made a request to Metropolitan Municipalities to provide the relevant information. Information was received from the following Metropolitan Municipalities:

ETHEKWINI METROPOLITAN MUNICIPALITY

  1. (a) Once a week

           (b) Yes

      2. None

BUFFALO CITY METROPOLITAN MUNICIPALITY

  1. (a) Once a week

          (b) Yes

   2. Yes, there were disruptions of services in BCMM Solid Waste Department

      (a) Disruptions were caused by frequent breakdowns of Refuse Compactor Trucks and labour unrests;

     (b) The Department of Solid Waste usually addresses the labour issues that arise with the assistance of Corporate Services.

CITY OF TSHWANE

  1. (a) Once a week

          (b) Yes

2. The collection trucks were mostly on schedule but there may have been 1 or 2 days where some areas experienced delays.

    (a) The delays would typically be due to a break-down of a vehicle or a workers strike.

     (b) The collection continues into the following day or days so that there are no backlogs when the following week starts.

MANGAUNG METROPOLITAN MUNICIPALITY

  1. (a) Once a week

        (b) Yes

2. Yes, there were disruptions and late removal of waste since 1 January 2015.

     (a) There is often a shortage of vehicles due to vehicles breaking down.

     (b) The municipality utilises a pool of SMMEs who have been appointed to render emergency door to door waste collection as and when necessary.

NELSON MANDELA BAY METROPOLITAN MUNICIPALITY

  1. The NMBM is collecting refuse from 99.98% of households within the urban edge, excluding informal areas on privately owned erven not earmarked for Human Settlements development. Almost one third of the households waste is collected bi-weekly and the remaining two-thirds are collected weekly. The NMBM is in the process of converting all bi-weekly refuse collection to a weekly service by June 2016.

2.   Yes, there were instances of late removal of waste since 1 January 2015.

     (a) The capacity to render efficient Waste Collection Services is often hampered by breakdowns in refuse trucks due to ageing fleet and turnaround time on repairs and maintenance. This leads to refuse being collected later than usual, in certain communities. Nonetheless, the refuse is collected on the same day of refuse collection schedule even if it is late during the day.

     (b) The NMBM has embarked on a process of recapitalisation of old fleet. New refuse trucks have been purchased and other trucks are scheduled to be purchased in the next financial year. In the meantime, the NMBM is hiring externally through the existing Municipal contract in order to supplement its service delivery demands.

 

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