Johannesburg - Fed up with shoddy service delivery, Orange Farm residents have emptied their waste bins on their ward councillor’s doorstep.
According to one resident, who declined to be identified because he is employed in the municipal office as a general worker, their ward councillor, Lindelwa June Nhose, had “dared us to do as we saw fit” when they complained about the lack of waste removal services in the area.
“And so we rose to the challenge,” he said.
The residents, from ward 3, rounded up all their waste bins and made sure they had “collected enough bins to make a statement”.
They claim they had been complaining that Pikitup, the waste management company, had not been servicing their area since December 16.
They also claim they had approached the company’s area manager, who informed them that trucks used to load waste bins had broken down.
“We didn’t believe him. So we approached the head office, who told us they were not aware of the problem. When we took the matter to our councillor, to whom we have been crying about this for weeks, she gave us attitude, and so we reacted,” said Pule Semahla, one of the protest organisers.
Residents wheeled their bins to Nhose’s front yard and emptied the waste there on Saturday afternoon.
According to Semahla, it was a “filthy sight”. He said worms, maggots and flies were everywhere and “you had to hold your breath”.
The refuse was finally collected on Tuesday. This is not the first time that Nhose has come under fire from the residents.
In July, they took to the streets to protest about their dissatisfaction with Eskom’s plan to install new prepaid meter boxes. These would cost R2 000 per household.
The protest reached a climax at Nhose’s offices at the multi-purpose centre.
The ward councillor had to be escorted out by the police as the crowd turned rowdy, with roads being blocked and some properties vandalised.
The Star attempted to contact Nhose on Wednesday, but her cellphone was switched off. Pikitup was unable to respond in time for publication.
The Star