Edenvale streets gather dust, stones and weeds while Ekurhuleni’s street sweeper trucks sit idle
by Cllr. Heather Hart — DA Councillor for Ward 18 in Ekurhuleni
Date: 02 March 2021
Release: Immediate
Type: Media Statement
The state of Edenvale’s streets poses a sorry sight with the accumulation of stones, weeds, rocks and sand-strewn across most road surfaces in the community. A clean-up job that could be easily carried out by one of the City of Ekurhuleni’s (CoE) Street Sweeping trucks, designed to specifically carry out that very function.
Unfortunately, instead, these trucks have been sitting idly in a garage in Kempton Park for well over two years for reasons that the ANC-led coalition have not made entirely clear.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Ekurhuleni has repeatedly requested CoE to use the street sweepers to clean the streets of Edenvale, only to be met with a different excuse each time. From the trucks needing maintenance, to the unavailability of qualified operators and, more recently, the brushes needing to be replaced — our requests to improve the street environment in Edenvale are continuously being blocked for disingenuous reasons by the ANC and its coalition partners in the Metro.
After numerous questions, as well as a 2020 motion calling for the trucks to be used in the Edenvale CBD as a pilot programme during daytime hours with a view to roll it out in other areas across the Metro. Sadly, this was ultimately dismissed by the ANC Coalition-led Council on the grounds that blowers could clean the verges, Edenvale residents are being deprived of services that the Metro clearly has at their disposal.
The Metro purchased the four trucks in 2016 at an accumulated cost of R11-million, but 5-years down the line the trucks have been left to gather dust and deteriorate in Kempton Park and other unknown localities with no viable explanation from the CoE.
The DA calls on the MMC for Environmental Resource and Waste Management Services, Ald. Khosi Mabaso, to urgently launch an investigation into the state of these trucks. In the interests of Edenvale residents, the DA seeks to ascertain where they are, what condition they are in, and why they are not being used on the City’s roads.
It is unacceptable that such an investment has been neglected by the Metro and is a clear example of wasteful expenditure. While the ANC Coalition-led CoE continues to deprive residents of basic services, the DA will continue to hold them to account and continue to work toward providing the Edenvale community with the services they sorely need.
Cllr. Heather Hart
DA Councillor in Ward 18 in Ekurhuleni
