Nelson Mandela Bay councillors were left stunned this week when it emerged that the city’s eight new refuse compactors that had been parked at the South End Fire Station had been moved back to the municipal depots.
The trucks were kept at the station for safekeeping because the five municipal depots are in such disrepair they resemble scrapyards, with security so lax that break-ins are more routine than rare.
With a new fleet of trucks, purchased for R30m, expected to arrive in November, councillors raised concerns about negligence and accountability on the part of the responsible officials.
In April, armed men made off with a truckload of tyres at the Metcalfe Road depot. Yet, four months on, no cameras and fencing have been installed at any of the city’s depots.
A report tabled at the public health committee on Tuesday revealed that in the 2024/2025 financial year, only 18% of the fleet was available for refuse collection.
The directorate’s acting executive director, Anelisa Dyakala, told the committee that officials had been informed there was no available space at the South End Fire station for the compactors.
“We are still working on a sustainable parking space between [the director of fleet management] Mr [Mbulelo] Velemani and myself.
“The parking that we had in South End was temporary and we got lots of complaints about the trucks were smelling and taking up space, so we had to remove them and now most of them are at Harrower Road,” Dyakala said.
She said no incidents had been reported in the past two months.
DA councillor Mthokozisi Nkosi said efforts to replenish the fleet were an exercise in futility as the trucks would probably also be targeted.
“We are taking them back to where the criminals are. It’s not just a mafia that is external but it’s people inside working with them.
“We are not giving them brand new trucks.
“The very same people who were present when these things happened are still there. The so-called security and staff who saw nothing are still there,” he said.
An internal audit report in May lifted the lid off rampant corruption, sabotage and fraud at the Bay’s fleet depots — exposing a web of officials allegedly crippling the city’s services to enrich themselves.
The report pointed to officials who are accused of exploiting weak controls for profit by selling old tyres, misusing colleagues’ logins and installing old parts in vehicles instead of new ones.
Public health political head Thsonono Buyeye was also shocked to hear the trucks had been moved.
“Our agreement was that these trucks must stay at the fire station until we are sure of the safety plan. Who decided to take these trucks and put them in the depots?
“That person will be responsible when something happens to those trucks because we decided that was the safest place for them for now,” he said.
During the meeting, newly appointed depot workshop manager Masego Mosimanyane revealed that the municipality had no records of its fleet.
“I got here and the first thing I asked for was a fleet register, but I cannot get hold of it, so we don’t even know the assets,” he said.
“I do not know what is happening because there are no records, which makes it difficult to know whether we should fix an asset or not.
“For example, on the trucks we were given, we do not know what was done on it up to that date and for me those things make it difficult to know to say ‘if we fix this truck today how long will it last?’”
ANC councillor Lorna Maseko said Mosimanyane’s report proved that the directorate was not performing as expected.
“We thank his accidental visit because if it were his boss, we would think that things are running smoothly.
“It has been a long time hammering on these things for months,” she said.
A performance budget tabled by Dyakala showed that the directorate would have a R38m deficit this financial year.
Last year, it incurred a R69m deficit because it continued to be heavily dependent on private contractors for refuse collection.
The report tabled on Tuesday revealed that 15 compactors were in for repairs at workshops, 24 needed to be withdrawn from service while four had been sold at auction.
The municipality has set a R90m budget over three financial years ending in 2025/2026 for new refuse compactors.
DA councillor Anette Lovemore questioned whether the city had a plan to deal with “mafias” who had cashed in on the depletion of the fleet.
“There is a mafia out there and we have been a victim of it with respect to trucks over the years.
“In your planning ... does not take into account that there is a mafia waiting to pounce because they own assets which they have invested big money into to make money,” Lovemore said.
In response, Dyakala said: “When we started hiring 50 compactors it was a shock to us because as the municipality, we used to [have] spare capacity but we have seen our fleet go down the drain because every year when we requested a budget to purchase two or three vehicles per year, it was declined, which led us to be [dependent on] those so-called mafias today.
“We do talk to them to say, gradually prepare yourselves, because we are not going to be dependent on their services forever; they should start looking for work somewhere else,” Dyakala said.
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