Johannesburg - City of Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba has had to put out fires after only a week in the mayoral seat following a stern warning from the Economic Freedom Fighters and the Congress of South African Trade Unions and and its affiliate, the SA Municipal Workers’ Union, against the privatisation of waste removal entity Pikitup.
Mashaba said it would be “premature” for him to announce plans to sort out Pikitup, as careful planning and consultation was needed to ensure no jobs were lost in the process.
“The process of assessment and consultation will be conducted transparently and in good faith, and must include trade unions. During this process, I am committed to two central pillars. Firstly, the delivery of better services to the residents of this city, and secondly, the protection and promotion of jobs,” Mashaba said in a statement.
He said he had come across complaints from resident about Pikitup during his election campaign, and had promised to investigate and resolve the concerns raised if elected mayor.
“For years, Pikitup has been plagued with systemic problems that have prevented it from fulfilling its duty to keep Johannesburg clean. This is something that has to be addressed and I am committed to doing so,” said Mashaba.
“With the support of our newly appointed MMC for Environment and Infrastructure Services, Anthony Still, I wish to follow an inclusive process of assessment and consultation with all stakeholders to determine what is in the best interests of all.”
The new mayor came under fire from Cosatu, Samwu and the EFF for his planned privatisation of the city’s waste removal entity, with the EFF sending Mashaba a stern warning that he would not last in his new position as mayor should he go ahead with his plan.
Mashaba, who took over from African National Congress (ANC) mayor Parks Tau, had been adamant even during the campaign trail ahead of the August 3 local government elections about his plans to privatise Pikitup and break it up into several different parts. The red berets of the EFF said Mashaba should rather attend to land issues urgently instead of destroying jobs at Pikitup.
Mashaba’s Democratic Alliance (DA) took over the country’s financial capital, thanks to the EFF offering it its vote in order to unseat the ANC in the local government polls earlier this month.
African News Agency