Third party theory in CBD trashing

PIKITUP continues spending R50000 a day in cleaning up the streets of the Joburg inner city as the trashing by disgruntled, former Jozi@ Work contractors continues into its second week.

Worst-hit areas are the Joburg CBD, including Joubert Park.

Pikitup spokesperson Muzi Mkhwanazi accused former workers, whose three-month contract ended at the end of August, of continuing to trash the city.

The new programme, called the Community Upliftment Programme, which will hire workers directly, has not yet kicked off.

The Jozi@Work was designed to offer three-monthlong employment to workers. However, the city recently discontinued the project, saying millions of rand in commission were being spent on “middlemen” who hired the workers. It said the city would hire these cleaners directly, eliminating the commission.

Since the beginning of the month, workers have been vandalising city property, looting shops, assaulting Pikitup employees, and threatening and harassing people.

Pikitup workers and trucks, removing refuse in the Joburg CBD, are being accompanied by Joburg metro police department vehicles.

Last week, the managing director of Pikitup, Lungile Dhlamini, said former Jozi@ Work employees had been on the rampage for the past week, after demands for permanent employment were rejected.

Dhlamini said an additional R49.2 million had been allocated to Pikitup to extend the programme.

He had reason to believe this criminal behaviour was organised by a third party, he added, as “we have seen footage showcasing how these individuals are systematically dropped off at various locations”.

The utility, he said, was working with policing authorities to identify the owners of these vehicles in order to lay criminal charges against those responsible for disruptions to services and damage to property, he said.

@annacox

Workers have been vandalising city property