DSW truck set alight in uMlazi

ETHEKWINI Municipality has confirmed that a Durban Solid Waste (DSW) refuse collection truck was set alight in uMlazi on Monday.

Last year The Mercury reported that municipal vehicles were being targeted by criminals with more than 110 vehicles hijacked. The DSW unit and electricity unit were the most affected by attacks. Municipal spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said the City received reports on Monday regarding a municipal DSW truck that was on fire.

“No injuries have been reported as a result of the fire. A case of malicious damage to property is being investigated by the SAPS,” she said.

DA uMlazi councillor Nomfundo Khubone said the party strongly condemned the attack.

“Metro officials said the truck was moving through V-section when the driver was held at gunpoint before the vehicle was set alight,” she said.

Khubone said it was concerning that the attack took place when waste removal services were resuming, recalling that last year residents of the area took to the streets over various waste collection-related issues, including the non-removal of refuse for days on end.

She said residents had a right to basic service delivery from the City, however, any action that seeks to threaten this delivery must be condemned, investigated and the culprits brought to book.

ActionSA KZN leader, Zwakele Mncwango, said this was an issue of criminality. “This may have been just a criminal element, one does not know what the circumstances were and why someone would want to hijack or burn a DSW truck.” IFP councillor Mdu Nkosi said it was disappointing that a municipal truck was torched while rendering services to the community. It had become the norm, he said, and the IFP was concerned that the perpetrators were not being brought to book. “I suspect that this is a result of having contracts because for me the municipal employees are a stumbling block to these people getting contracts.”

Nkosi said he was informed that the suspect who approached the driver of the truck told him in Zulu “it has started”, adding that this meant war.

“The issue of contracts in all the departments of the municipality such as water, electricity and DSW is a problem,” he said.