Delivery of Waste Trucks in the City is proof of the DA’s Back to Basics Mandate
by Cllr. Tiaan Kotze — DA Spokesperson for Environmental Resource & Waste Management in Ekurhuleni
Date: 22 June 2023
Release: Immediate
Type: Press Statement
The Democratic Alliance Caucus in the City of Ekurhuleni welcomes the delivery of the first fleet of waste trucks, delivered this week. On the 20th of June 2023, the City took delivery of four (4) new waste trucks. This is the first delivery of the twelve (12) waste trucks as promised by the DA-led Multi-Party Coalition in February 2023 of this year.
Before the DA was voted out of office by the EFF-led Coalition, the DA MMC for Finance, Cllr. Fanyana Nkosi ensured that an adequate budget was allocated to the Environment and Waste Management Department, to ensure the purchase of these trucks. Much to the DA’s surprise, the Budget for the 2023/24 financial year remained relatively untouched by the newly appointed EFF MMC for Finance, Cllr. Nkululeko Dunga. It was for this reason that the DA voted in favour of the budget, as it was essentially the ‘Back to Basics Budget’ drafted by former DA MMC for Finance, and as such, was our (the DA’s) budget being approved.
R2.8 billion was allocated to the Environment and Waste Management Department, of which R54 million was allocated to the purchase of new waste trucks. At the beginning of the year, the DA-led Multi-Party Coalition took delivery of 36 waste vehicles acquired through the approval of a plant hire contract, which brought the City’s fleet to full capacity and stabilised waste management across the City.
We are eagerly awaiting the delivery of the remaining waste trucks to be delivered which is set for delivery in July 2023. The new vehicles will include 10 rear-end loaders and two front-end loaders. This purchase was one of the first steps taken by the Multi-Party Coalition to replace the ageing in-house fleet to stabilise waste collection in the City. We are hopeful that the Department will continue with the purchase of new waste trucks in the 2024/25 financial year, to realise the Multi-Party Coalition’s plan to have 21 new City-owned waste management trucks as part of the renewal of the City’s in-house fleet.
We made a vow to residents when we took office, that we will go ‘Back to Basics’ to root out corruption and improve service delivery in the City. With over a year of hard work and dedication to this cause, we are proud to see some of the deliverables of our government being realised beyond our short tenure in office. It goes to show that when there is true commitment from politicians and political parties alike, to clean governance and service delivery, we can achieve more as a City.
We urge the EFF-led Coalition to prioritise the capacitation of the Transport and Fleet Department to ensure that these vehicles are adequately maintained and serviced so that they remain in optimal working condition. We cannot allow these gains to go to waste as it did under the watch of the ANC-led Coalition.
With the Multi-Party Coalition’s ‘Back to Basics’ Budget being approved in the City, the success of the budget will lie in its delivery. Even in opposition, we are already at work at oversight level to ensure that the Departments set realistic targets for service delivery aligned to our ‘Back to Basics’ mandate. We will be monitoring the implementation of these targets and the relevant budget expenditure to ensure that service delivery is brought back to the standard of excellence that our residents deserve.
Media Enquiries
Cllr. Tiaan Kotze
Deputy Caucus Chairperson for the DA in Ekurhuleni and Spokesperson for Environmental Resource & Waste Management in Ekurhuleni
079 893 8404
