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The oversight visits by ActionSA to Mamelodi and Soshanguve highlighted how service delivery in townships in the City of Tshwane has come to a near standstill with refuse not being collected for weeks, critical repairs to water and electricity infrastructure not taking place and municipal offices intermittently being closed.

The oversight visits to affected township communities reiterates ActionSA’s belief that instead of ignoring the concerns of municipal workers, the city should proactively engage with labour unions to find a solution to the current impasse.

While suburban communities may have been able to find ways to address the current service delivery declines, it is the township communities that do not have the financial resources to take similar action.

The reality is that the workers have legitimate concerns as the city concluded a three-year agreement with workers in 2021 already and has now for two years failed to implement that agreement.

It is for this reason that ActionSA logged a dispute at the coalition management committee to urge Mayor Cilliers Brink to engage with labour unions to find a solution. We will be presenting the findings of our oversight visits to the coalition management committee.

While services have intermittently been restored in some arrears, the question is how long as the city’s labour relations have deteriorated.

The oversight also revealed how in certain communities, ANC-aligned community members attempted to exploit the situation to portray the multi-party coalition government as dysfunctional. This again reiterates why it is imperative for crucial city services to return as soon as possible.

ActionSA, as a committed partner of the multi-party government, will continue to work with all partners to find a solution to end the current strike action. We continue to criticise any damage of property and believe that a compromise can be found. 

Issued by ActionSA Gauteng chairperson, Funzi Ngobeni