15 Feb 2013

Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development has acknowledged that Gaborone City Council (GCC) is not adequately resourced for efficient collection of waste in the city.

Answering a parliamentary question on February 13, Mr Peter Siele said the ideal fleet requirement for efficient collection of waste should be 44 refuse compactor trucks to be able to collect twice a week, but GCC had 20 trucks, eight of which were operational.

He said GCC had put in place initiatives to improve the rate of waste collection such as outsourcing waste collection through the use of open trucks and vans to pick up waste which has been placed in refuse bags.

Mr Siele said in addition, the council would procure nine additional refuse compactor trucks to increase the fleet and were expected to be delivered during the month of April.

MP for Gaborone West South, Mr Botsalo Ntuane had asked the minister if he was aware that GCC was not adequately resourced and as such it took more than a month to collect refuse from residences. ENDS