02 Jun 2014

Francistown mayor, Mr James Kgalajwe has warned non-performing contractors that their contracts will be terminated.

Mayor Kgalajwe issued the warning at the recent unveiling of three refuse collection trucks that the city council bought. The trucks were bought from Zambezi motors to the tune of P4.4 million.

The mayor noted that in the past the council had had problems with contractors who underpaid their employees or paid them late which resulted in employees abandoning their waste collection duties.

The city council has outsourced four contractors to the tune of P3 million. The mayor urged them to deliver or risk termination of their contracts.

He also encouraged the companies to observe labour laws so their employees could perform to expected standard. The mayor explained that the city council decided to outsource as it was not getting value for money from litter pickers it engaged in the past.

He said altogether the council had set aside P7 million for litter picking, and when the people engaged failed to deliver, council management decided to divert the money to outsourcing litter picking services.

Mr Kgalajwe said outsourcing waste management to private contractors was part of government’s strategy to empower and grow the private sector.

“Don’t disappoint us,” he warned the contractors and urged them to work with ward development committees. On other issues, he said the city council would continue to come up with initiatives to guarantee public health and achieve the ideals of Vision 2022. The vision envisages a clean city that can attract investors.

To that end the council was planning on conducting clean up campaigns with contractors and businesses around the city.

He also applauded the Francistown’s twinning city of Ghenk in Belgium which helped them design their waste management strategy.

The Belgian city delegation attending the event was led by its mayor. The deputy mayor also attended.

Touching on the new trucks, the mayor said each of the vehicles the cost about P1.4 million and had a carrying capacity of twenty-tonnes. Each truck had self-loading capabilities.

Mayor Kgalajwe noted that a growing population, shortage of refuse compactors - only four out of 14 were operational – and non-availability of spare parts made refuse collection in the city a nightmare. As such there was need for adequate human resources to monitor waste collection in the city.

“We also experienced a lot of illegal dumping of construction rubble and the informal sector which did not adhere to the conditions of their licences,” he said.

For his part, the city clerk, Mr Lebuile Israel explained that the new trucks had a life span of ten to twenty years. He said the council was looking at having service level agreements with companies, maintenance services companies.

He said under normal circumstances a city the size of the Francistown could be effectively serviced by fourteen to fifteen trucks if it were to manage waste satisfactorily.

Meanwhile, the visiting mayor of Ghenk, Mr Wim Dries applauded Francistown for developing its waste management strategy. He said the strategy was a step in the right direction as Francistown wanted to attract investors.

He said the two cities should continue working together on capacity building. Mr Dries also promised to assist Francistown find investors internationally who are experts in recycling waste. Ends