DA slams municipalities for ‘double dipping' in waste collection

The Citizen

21-05-2025

The DA in Gauteng has raised concerns over municipalities employing external contractors for waste collection services while maintaining their own waste management departments.
This practice, called 'double dipping', involves municipalities hiring service providers to collect waste while simultaneously operating internal departments with substantial staff and equipment dedicated to the same task.
Khathutshelo Rasilingwane, the DA spokesperson for the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), highlighted this issue during a session in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature.
She pointed out that many municipalities continue to outsource waste collection despite having operational fleets and personnel capable of performing these duties.
Rasilingwane emphasised the financial implications of this approach, suggesting that municipalities should prioritise repairing and using their existing resources to enhance service delivery and reduce unnecessary expenditures.
She argued that residents are already paying for a service through existing rates, yet the service is either not rendered effectively or is completely absent.
She told Rekord that Tshwane's proposed new City Cleansing Levy, set to take effect on July 1, pending approval of the draft budget for 2025/2026, is an example of the results of mismanagement through double dipping.
'We believe that introducing an additional levy like the proposed R185 City Cleansing Levy amounts to punishing the residents for the metro's own failures in governance and operational management.'
The levy would impose a monthly fee of R185 on households and R194.37 on vacant properties exceeding 150 000 m² that do not use the city's waste collection services. The municipality aims to generate about R540-million in additional revenue through this initiative.
Critics argue that the levy constitutes double taxation, as property owners already pay private waste collectors.
AfriForum contends that the fixed fee violates Section 74(2) of the Municipal Systems Act, which mandates that municipal service charges be proportional to actual service usage.
She firmly believes that better management and a transparent audit of current waste services would reveal opportunities to cut wasteful expenditure rather than a further increase that will put more unnecessary pressure on the residents.
In response to her questions on waste removal in municipalities in Gauteng, MEC Jacob Mamabolo provided insights into the practices of various municipalities.
He noted that Tshwane, for instance, contracts external service providers for waste collection under lease agreements.
These contracts stipulate that service providers supply and maintain their fleet, with provisions to address any missed collections within 24 hours.
The metro, however, also has a Waste Management Division that handles waste collection, along with other related tasks.
This division is part of the broader Environment and Agriculture Management Department and is responsible for providing efficient waste management services.
To Rasilingwane, this constitutes the metro doing costly double dipping.
Mamabolo assured the Legislature that, according to the metro's management, there are currently no waste collection backlogs in Pretoria.
Furthermore, the MEC addressed concerns regarding landfill site rehabilitation.
He confirmed that Tshwane has six closed landfill sites, two of which have been fully rehabilitated and have been issued closure permits. The remaining sites are undergoing rehabilitation processes, with final closure plans in progress.
The remaining four, Temba, Onderstepoort, Kawasan and Garstkloof landfill sites, are undergoing rehabilitation and are awaiting finalisation of closure plans.
Mamabolo also said the metros management has indicated that it does not have old dumpsites (communal sites where waste was disposed of illegally) requiring rehabilitation, except for the ongoing clearance of random illegal dumping sites.
The metro said the landfill at Ga-Rankuwa has a life span of two to three years, and there will be a height extension and development on unturned land.
The Soshanguve landfill also has the same lifespan and will be addressed in the same way as Ga-Runkuwa.
The landfill in Pretoria east at Bronkhorspruit only has a lifespan of one year, and plans are afoot to procure an adjacent site for extension.
The Hatherley site in Nellmapius has a lifespan of 10 to 15 years, and interventions are being made to reduce incoming waste volumes.
While these measures of the metro and other Gauteng municipalities indicate a structured approach to waste management, Rasilingwane remained critical of the dual approach of double dipping in waste collection.
She advocates for a more efficient use of municipal resources to ensure cost-effective and sustainable service delivery to residents.
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