Litter pickers fail to turn up for work despite signing up for project

LITTER pickers who are part of the extended public works programme (EPWP) in Nelson Mandela Bay are not arriving for work, according to a municipal public health official.

Assistant public health director Annalisa Dyakala said most of the litter pickers had not shown up for work from the first day on March 1.

She spelt out the problems facing the War on Waste project during a public health committee meeting yesterday.

The first phase of the project saw complications that led to a major budget cut from R15-million to R7.5-million as a result of underspending.

“The people are not committed,” Dyakala said. “Some recruited participants have decided not to report for duty from day one of the project, after having signed a contract of employment.

“Some of them, after [starting work] decided that [it] was not acceptable to them and would then abscond,” Dyakala said.

She said the project had further been hit hard since the reduction in number of litter pickers due to the budget cut. She said it had been hoped that offering a stipend increase to litter pickers would motivate them to return to work.

Dyakala said a group of litter pickers in Ward 7 would be dismissed, as the entire team had failed to report for work.

Some councillors accused EPWP of hiring people who were over-qualified, but Dyakala said this was not true.

“The people recruited are not qualified. They don’t even have matric.”

ANC councillor Queenie Pink asked that the names of the litter pickers who had not shown up for work be circulated around the various wards.

Public health portfolio chairman Lance Grootboom said the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the litter pickers would have to be reviewed.

“We can’t have a number of people recruited but only a few pitch. We must look at the MoU.”

EPWP representative Somikazi Nofilita, who was present, said the litter pickers had been explicitly informed about the nature of the work.

“The way we conduct recruitment is informed by the department’s request,” Nofilita said. “EPWP targets the unskilled and the programme is labour-intensive.”