Environmental Resource and Waste Management Services — Ekurhuleni’s Waste and Environmental Crisis
by Ald Andre du Plessis- DA Shadow MMC for Environment and Waste Management in Ekurhuleni
Date: 24 March 2021
Release: Immediate
The Department of Environmental Resource and Waste Management Services, which is permanently in the face and nose of every Ekurhuleni resident, has reached an all-time low in terms of service delivery. This is evident through the lack of park maintenance, cemetery management, grass cutting, waste management and the severely polluted state of our water bodies.
A major contributor to this inefficiency moving towards a state of total collapse has been the lack of resources, including a high level of staff shortages. The Department currently has 1714 vacancies, with 924 funded vacant posts. Understaffing of this magnitude has clearly had an effect on the poor service delivery standards experienced across the City.
The Mayor speaks about establishing a botanical garden in Ekurhuleni. Given the dilapidated state of the City’s open spaces, however, it would be best to concentrate on these, rather than dreaming about vanity projects.
Under a Democratic Alliance (DA) administration not only will the filling of these funded vacancies be prioritised, but further posts will be created through Departmental restructuring so that it is more responsive to the service delivery needs of the City. Each newly appointed person will be fit for purpose and dedicated to their work, as opposed to inefficient performance demonstrated by the Department under the ANC Coalition-led* administration’s policy of cadre deployment.
Emphasis will be placed on efficient and sustainable service delivery escalated to our new standards of excellence as evident in other Metro’s where the DA governs such as the City of Cape Town and the Midvaal Municipality where they won first place for overall achievement for a Municipality in Gauteng.
Furthermore, a strict management and monitoring system for all tender processes will be implemented, ensuring an integrated system for the dovetailing of new tenders immediately after prior tenders have lapsed. This tender process will be open and transparent.
All policies and bylaws will be revised and implemented to allow for efficient and effective law enforcement in the pursuit of improving service delivery and rooting out non-compliance.
All civic building gardens maintenance will be transferred from the Department of Real Estate, back to the Department of Environmental Resource and Waste Management Services in order to ensure that these facilities become the eye-catching models of their former beauty and glory. In addition, the Department will reclaim the responsibility of cleaning the road verges, which currently is not in the ambit of the Roads or the Parks Department.
A DA-led Ekurhuleni will:
· Fill all funded vacancies while also promoting job creation, and employing staff that are fit for purpose;
· Restructure the Department to incorporate civic building gardens and the cleaning of road verges;
· Ensure an integrated tender process system to mitigate to ensure work efficiency and stomp out fraud and corruption.
For a video on the state of Environmental Resource and Waste Management in Ekurhuleni, click the link below:
Ald. Andre du Plessis
DA Shadow MMC for Environmental and Waste Management in Ekurhuleni
