From today, the City of Tshwane will start implementing the waste collection catch-up plan in most parts of Region 6 amid disruptions by disgruntled workers of the former refuse service providers.
The normal waste collection schedule has been severely impacted in Region 6 since the introduction of the new waste management service providers on 15 July 2024.
The initial delays were caused by the new service providers as they were grappling with familiarising themselves with the routes, but this soon escalated to threats and acts of violence against the waste trucks along certain routes and at landfill sites.
Last week, workers of the former service providers embarked on a violent spree and stormed the municipal building in Mamelodi West, hurled a petrol bomb in one of the offices, smashed the windows and threatened employees, who were traumatised and had to undergo counselling.
Bronkhorstspruit, Mamelodi and Atteridgeville have experienced the worst forms of intimidation and threats directed at the new service providers and at landfill sites.
Residents are urged to leave their bins outside as per the norm and bear with the City as we roll out the catch-up plan from today until Sunday in a bid to clear the backlog.
Mr Johann Mettler, City Manager, has vowed that the municipality will not give in to the demands of the former service providers and their workers.
“We will not capitulate to the threats by some of the previous service providers who did not meet the new requirements. We have now identified the instigators and will act against them. We will continue with the deployment of law enforcement officers along the identified routes and at landfill sites to thwart their planned criminal activities,” Mettler said.
The City implemented the SS01 waste removal contract with effect from 15 July 2024, after the tender had been approved by the Bid Adjudication Committee.
The City reviewed and tightened the specifications to improve the efficiency of the service based on the lessons learnt from previously awarded tenders. The tender process was fair, open and transparent.
The specifications included the following three new conditions:
- A valid e-Natis certificate to verify the roadworthiness of the vehicle, to present the vehicle on-site and to ensure that the vehicle certificate is not fraudulent.
- Installation of a tracking device to verify that the allocated routes have been travelled.
- The vehicle should not be older than nine years to prevent the frequent breakdown of an old vehicle and to minimise the wear and tear of the compaction mechanism.
These specifications are also applicable to subcontractors.
The City benchmarked with other metros in Gauteng when considering the refuse removal specifications and discovered that Ekurhuleni and Johannesburg required vehicles not to be older than three years and five years, respectively.
Furthermore, the City added the following requirements in the specifications in respect of subcontracting:
- The service provider may not subcontract the whole or any portion of the service without the prior consent of the City.
- In the event that the service provider wishes to subcontract, it shall apply in writing to the City for consent to do so.
- In its application the service provider shall furnish the name of the subcontractor, the subcontractor’s obligations, including fees payable, a security background check and their financial status.
- The City may, in its sole and absolute discretion, refuse consent to subcontract.
- The service provider shall ensure that the subcontractor’s BBBEE level is equal or better than that of the service provider, that their price is competitive and that they have the capacity to provide the service.
- Such subcontracting shall not absolve the service provider from responsibility for achieving the service levels or complying with its obligations.
- The service provider shall always remain the sole point of contact for the City in respect of the acquisition of services by the City.
- No such subcontracting shall have any effect on the contract price and charges payable by the City to the service provider in terms of the agreement.
In view of the above-mentioned control measures, the relevant department requested the appointed service providers to avail information in preparation for the final deployment of the required vehicles.
Some of the service providers were unable to provide the required documents, while others managed to do so. However, in certain instances, some of the service providers did not comply with the required specifications.
On the first day of deployment, vehicles were inspected and only qualifying ones were allowed to work. However, many of the subcontractors were not willing to adhere to the subcontracting conditions and instead opted to block some of the landfill sites and escalated the level of intimidation.
Approximately 60% of the previous waste contractors have not made it back onto the new tender owing to the stringent specifications aimed at improving efficiency