The municipality’s decision to move its eight new refuse compactors from the safety of the South End Fire Station to its own theft- and vandalism-prone depots is beyond baffling — and worrying.
The municipal depots are a disgrace, filled with broken-down, rusted and stripped vehicles, many of which have been there for a long time.
What passes for security at the depots is a joke, with break-ins routine.
With a new R30m fleet of trucks expected to arrive next month, councillors are also concerned about negligence and the lack of accountability on the part of the responsible officials.
Six months ago, armed men made off with a truckload of tyres at the Metcalfe Road depot. Yet, there has been no obvious attempt to improve the security, with no cameras and fencing installed at the depots.
The directorate’s acting executive director, Anelisa Dyakala, told the public health committee last week the compactors had been moved to the Harrower Road depot because the municipality had received complaints that they were smelly and told there was no space at the South End Fire Station for them.
“We are still working on a sustainable parking space between [the director of fleet management] Mr [Mbulelo] Velemani and myself,” she said, adding that there had been no incidents in the past two months.
However, moving the vehicles without first properly securing the depot where they are now parked is, as one councillor said at the meeting, an exercise in futility.
Shocked public health political head Thsonono Buyeye said it had been agreed that the trucks must stay at the fire station for now “until we are sure of the safety plan”.
He said the official responsible for the decision to move them to the depots would be responsible should anything happen to the vehicles.
The money spent on security upgrades to ensure the protection of the vehicles would save the metro millions in the long term.
It would have been logical to do this first but, instead, the bumbling metro has gone ahead without a clear plan.
The Herald
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