Petition on waste collection services in Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM), Gauteng Province 19 March 2019

Outline Background Legislative mandate Petition matter resolution Progress on the petition Conclusion

Background Petition received from residents of Kempton Park (Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality) Over 1500 complaints were received Update parliament on progress after the previous briefing to the Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs

Legislative Mandate The Constitution (Act no 108 of 1996) Schedule 5 Part B The following local government matters to the extent set out for provinces in section 155 (6)(a) and (7): Cleansing Refuse removal, refuse dumps and solid waste disposal Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD) is a regulatory body to Municipalities on matters pertaining to waste management Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) sets national norms and standards for waste management and also supports Municipalities with issues pertaining to waste management

PCEA Concluding Remarks to DEA - November 2018 Strengthen coordination and mutual cooperation among Waste Management Officers (WMOs) in national, provincial and local sphere of government through Waste Khoro, MinMEC structures, Provincial Waste Management Fora, etc. towards service delivery improvement. Strengthen oversight monitoring of waste related complaints resolution (especially municipal customer service). 3. Work with Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality and Gauteng Province (GDARD) to address any unresolved waste collection complaints around Glen Marais, Kempton Park.

Progress on the Petition In November 2018, DEA requested a report from Ekurhuleni regarding their response towards the petition. The report is attached and some of the key items to note from the report are: The problem came as a result of the roll out of the 240 wheelie bins and reconfiguration of the collection system to suit the wheelie bins There was resistance from residents on the adoption of the new waste collection system since they could not dispose larger volumes of waste The service provider converting the collection vehicles only managed to convert about 50% meaning there was shortage of collection vehicles suitable for 240 bins Other contributing factors were: shortage of staff, unpaid overtime, mechanical break downs, growth in the area, etc

Progress on the Petition …2 Some of the action taken by EMM in November were as follows: Establishment of fleet management meetings to improve vehicle availability Resuscitation of management and staff meeting Motivation of the teams by recognising productivity Equal workload distribution for the week amongst the 12 trucks. Sourcing of assistance from depots in close proximity when required. Despatching of trucks early in the mornings without delay. Monitoring of productivity and quality of services rendered. Identification and training of presiding and presenting officers. the purchase of two-way radios for communication between teams on round collections and the Depot. DEA also met with the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the meeting agreed to escalate such matters coming from parliament to the MEC

Progress on the Petition DEA has brought the complaints to the attention of both Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) and Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD) The complainants were provided with the correct email address of the Head of Department (HoD) for Waste and Environment in Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality The complainants were advised to copy DEA on unresolved complaints sent to the EMM The EMM are working jointly with GDARD to resolve the complains from the residents of Kempton park in Glen Marais DEA is expecting a progress report from EMM on the 15 March 2019. EMM will present progress directly to the PCEA on the 19 March 2019

Conclusion Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality to continue providing progress to the Portfolio Committee on waste challenges they are experiencing in Kempton park until the matter has been resolved. DEA will continue working with Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality and Gauteng Province (GDARD) to address any waste collection challenges at Kempton Park (Glen Marais).