Ekurhuleni Waste Crisis: Benoni residents without wheelie bins for over two months

by Cllr. Mary Goby — DA Councillor in Ward 28, Ekurhuleni

Date: 26 August 2021

Release: Immediate

Type: Media statement

The ANC-led coalition* in the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) is once again letting residents down by failing in their duty to provide service delivery. This time by not providing wheelie bins, which allows residents with the means to correctly dispose of their waste.

The CoE has not had any stock of wheelie bins for over two months, with seemingly little will from the Department of Environmental Resource and Waste Management Services, under the poor leadership of the ANC-appointed MMC, Ald. Khosi Mabaso, to rectify the situation.

At the Benoni Depot alone there is a list of over 200 residents who are waiting for the bins. Inexplicably these residents are still being charged for refuse collection service they are simply not receiving. As a result, residents are having to inconveniently take their refuse directly to the dumpsite. In some cases the refuse is being dumped illegally, which has become a burgeoning problem for the Metro in recent times.

Some residents have started to pay private service providers to remove the refuse, which is an indictment on the ANC-led administration in Ekurhuleni, who simply cannot meet their constitutionally mandated service delivery commitments to residents.

The Acting Democratic Alliance (DA) Shadow MMC for Environmental Resource and Waste Management Services, Cllr. Tiaan Kotze, has sent countless emails to the Department and MMC Mabaso, with no response.

The DA in Ekurhuleni finds it unacceptable that the Metro can simply ignore residents in this manner while they diligently pay their rates and taxes. It is clear that the Department has many operational challenges; however, their lack of communication shows their disregard for residents.

The DA will continue to hold the failing ANC-led Metro to account through any means possible to ensure that residents receive their wheelie bins as soon as possible so as to not exacerbate the waste crisis in the City.

For a video on the waste crisis in Ekurhuleni follow the following link: Facebook

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*Coalition Partners: African Independent Congress (AIC), Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), Patriotic Alliance (PA) and Independent Ratepayers Association of South Africa (IRASA)

Cllr. Mary Goby

DA Councillor in Ward 28, Ekurhuleni