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Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality will fork out R170 million on new refuse compactor trucks, in part, to help the City address the ongoing scourge of illegal dumping.
According to a statement, these plans were approved on Wednesday by the Mayoral Committee and will see the purchase of 42 refuse trucks over the next three years.
Mayoral committee member for Public Health, Tshonono Buyeye, said the Metro is currently faced with a serious challenge of illegal dumping.
He says this poses a health risk, especially for children, and also hampers efforts to beautify the Metro.
Buyeye said the old fleet of refuse compactor trucks continuously experiences mechanical problems but accounts for more than 60 percent of the Metro's total refuse collection fleet.
“The City has been forced to acquire services of private external service providers that cost the metro more than R50 million each financial year, a spending that has proved to be unsustainable for the metro,” he said.
Buyeye said Nelson Mandela Bay plans to set a budget of R61.5 million for the 2023/24 financial year for 15 refuse compactor trucks.
“For the 2024/25 financial year, the same amount is planned to be allocated for 15 trucks while R49.2 million will be set aside for the 2025/26 financial year,” he added.