GCC blames general elections for waste pile-up

Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Thursday November 6, 2014 11:58

Rubbish has been piling in the capital for weeks because the truck drivers were seconded to serve in the just ended General Elections.

Gaborone residents complained about the uncollected waste, which has caused a foul odour and fears of disease outbreaks in neglected areas such as Block 9. Residents in such areas say the high summer temperatures have worsened the situation by accelerating the putrefaction of uncollected waste.

However, Gaborone City Council (GCC) Public Relations Officer, Seeletso Lekgaba, yesterday said that problem is now under control since the drivers have returned to their  posts. She said only certain parts of the city were affected by the problem of uncollected garbage. She said of the 29 council refuse collection trucks, only 12 are functional.

 “We have very few drivers and all of them were re-deployed to help during elections. So it was because of that reason that rubbish was not collected in some areas during that time,” she said.

Lekgaba said even though the council was operating at half its available fleet, it was still able to meet its service standard of one collection per week in other locations in Gaborone.

“I do not expect the situation to be out of control out there. There could be some uncollected rubbish, but I do not expect it to be a serious problem,” she said.

The latest disruption is part of the city’s long running troubles with timely waste collection. In the past, the problem has caused whiffs of bad odors around the city  and a massive increase in the number of flies and rats.

At one point, even The Ministry of Transport and Communications issued a press release pleading with residents not to resort to dumping rubbish at bus stops, roadsides and open spaces. 

The situation improved after the council contracted local truck owners to collect rubbish to a holding area before being ferried to the regional landfill at Gamodubu.