Strike cleanup on track

Empangeni’s CBD was left in a disgraceful state after the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) strike

By Friday (30 April) the city of uMhlathuze refuse services should be back to normal. This is according to the Director of Community Services and Health, Ziphi Dladla, who is working on the mass cleanup after the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) strike. In Empangeni, despite the frustration of some Empangeni residents with the slowness of the strike cleanup, Dladla reported that the residential areas were ‘normalised’ last the weekend. ‘This is except for two streets which were attended to on Monday morning.’ Residents, however, reported that numerous streets had been forgotten. ‘I am positive that by Wednesday morning the situation (in Empangeni) would have been resolved. In Richards Bay the residential refuse removal staff worked during the weekend to catch up on the backlog. On Saturday they attended to the waste buildup in Meerensee and Arboretum. On Sunday Birdswood and the CBD areas were cleaned up. From Monday the refuge waste collectors were following the normal schedules. ‘We are still receiving complains regarding bins that were not emptied during the weekend, but we are dealing with them.’ In eSikhaleni and Vulindlela normal schedules were also followed.