Durban - The acting head and deputy head of the City’s Durban Solid Waste Unit (DSW) are apparently at loggerheads.
Acting head Noluthando Magewu placed the deputy head: operations, Qaphile Gcwensa, on precautionary suspension amid accusations that include insubordination, according to the suspension letter seen by The Mercury.
Magewu has been acting head for a few months since the resignation of former head Raymond Rampersad.
Issues over authority in the unit seem to be at the heart of the dispute. The issues come amid concerns that refuse in some parts of the City was not being collected at the scheduled times. Westville is one of the suburbs that has experienced problems with collections.
Municipal spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said: “The collection of refuse in Westville was inconvenienced by a breakdown of three trucks that service the area. However, the City has cleared the backlog in the affected areas in Westville and refuse removal is back to its normalcy. We are requesting residents to take out their refuse on scheduled collection days.”
In the suspension letter, it stated that Gcwensa was suspended on full pay.
“A final determination has been made to suspend you on full remuneration, pending the finalisation of the investigation (regarding) the allegations of misconduct and any disciplinary emanating therefrom.”
Gcwensa declined to comment and directed all communication to the City.
DA councillor Mzamo Billy said it was concerning that DSW’s instability continued to grow, saying this was posing an unfathomable threat to the efficiency and operations of refuse management and service delivery.
“As things stand, refuse management in the City is fast deteriorating. Challenges ranging from uncollected refuse, filthy streets, and an unprecedented number of truck breakdowns, to ill-managed landfill sites and corruption have been some of the issues that need solid management with a clear and long-term plan to resolve them.
“Instead, management seem to be preoccupied with fighting for their own survival,” said Billy.
IFP councillor Mdu Nkosi said for some time the council had been calling for consequence management in the municipality and the accusation of paying overtime without permission was a serious concern.
ActionSA councillor Alan Beesley said the challenges facing DSW were impacting on service delivery which was currently at an all-time low.
“The internal leadership battles that are currently taking place are further going to impact these low levels of service delivery.
“As such, it is imperative that the leadership disputes are resolved as soon as possible and that service levels improve.
“The residents and businesses of eThekwini deserve better,” he said.
Sisilana declined to comment, saying this was an internal City matter.
“EThekwini Municipality does not discuss employee-employer relations issues with third parties as these matters are confidential between the employer and the concerned employee.
“If and when there are labour-related issues, we address those concerns directly with the employee/s concerned.”