eThekwini accused of trying to sweep rubbish ride-on cleaners under the carpet

Durban residents deny knowledge of the R2.9m street sweeper machines, despite the municipality saying they’ve been operational for years.

The follows recent questions regarding the purchase of three ride-on vacuum sweepers for R2.9m in 2016 and whether they had been operational.

The DA in eThekwini said it had received a tip-off that the machines were not operational because the specifications were wrong and there were no trained personnel to operate them.

“They were bought a number of years ago for almost R3m but have never been used because they were the wrong fit for local use in the city, and more so because they’ve been having mechanical problems, and there are no people who have been trained to use the machines,” said Mzamo Billy, DA deputy caucus leader in eThekwini.

However, municipal spokesperson Gugu Sisilana refuted the DA’s claims, saying they were baseless.

“The vacuum sweepers are operational and have been in use for many years as they were procured seven years ago. Staff had to undergo training on the vacuum sweepers, which is a standard operating procedure for any new equipment,” she said.

“The machines can only travel at 20km per hour as they need to suction as much dirt as possible, this means that they can only be used at night-time when there is little to no foot or motor traffic. The machines have proven to be effective in the sweeping of the CBD and the city intends to use them in other areas such as the promenade.”

She did, however, concede that the three sweepers were now used infrequently after the municipality decided to invest an additional R500m on an extensive waste management strategy over a three-year period.

This included the procurement of 106 vehicles valued at R383m for the cleaning and solid waste unit. The vehicles were unveiled in two tranches between 2021 and 2022.

“There are now newer and more advanced vehicles being used by CSW [Cleansing and Solid Waste] to ensure the effective execution of cleaning in the city. This strategy is also part of the fleet management, as older units such as the three street sweepers are now being used when it is required.

“Members of the public should appreciate that any vehicle bought seven years ago would require maintenance and not be used as frequently, which is the case of the three street sweepers which are being used when required, especially as newer, bigger and more efficient units are now in operation.”

TimesLIVE Premium canvassed residents living in the CBD since 2021 to find out if they’d seen the vacuum sweepers at work.

However, no-one from 15 people who live in South Beach, Durban Central and along Victoria Embankment, said they have witnessed them at work.

“I’ve been living here since I was a student and I can tell you I’ve never seen these before. I’ve lived on Russell Street, South beach and Umbilo. Even when enjoying the nightlife on weekends or weekdays, I’ve never bumped to them,” said Mzwandile Mathonsi who has lived in the CBD since 2016.

“I’m not saying they don’t operate because I know that they clean at night and there’s enormous noise sometimes, so they might be right. But I’ve never seen those vacuums personally,” said Ongezwa Sidumo, who’s been living in South Beach since 2020.

Human settlements and infrastructure committee chairperson Bhekithemba Mvubu could not confirm with certainty whether the vacuums worked.

“I didn’t even know those things before Billy began talking about it. I can’t know all the machinery that is working in my department, unless it’s brought to my attention, but I’ll have to believe that they are working unless they are broken.”

He said he would follow up on the DA’s claims.

Meanwhile, the DA’s attempt to conduct an oversight inspection of the vacuum sweepers at the Durban Solid Waste depot on Monday was unsuccessful as they were denied entry into CSW offices, on the basis that they did not follow the correct procedure.

Billy said this was despite the party having informed and invited Noluthando Magewu, the acting CSW head and Sibusiso Makhanya, trading services deputy city manager before the visit, though they both did not attend.

He said they understood that the call to deny them access came from the political leadership in the city.

“We tried but there is an instruction from the city management that they must not allow us to come in. We are disturbed by what has transpired.”

He said the machines had been removed from where they were last week and “hidden” elsewhere.

“Hiding street sweepers, which have cost the municipality millions, which are not being used, is shocking behaviour by the municipality. To go to the extent of preventing public representatives to come and see that, is even more shocking,” he said.

“The actions of the city are destructive, unconstitutional and only aimed at weakening our oversight obligation and to avoid accountability. It is now clearer than ever that the city has a lot to hide on the purchase and use of these mini street sweeper vehicles and is using every available opportunity to block the public and the DA from getting to the truth.”