Cape Town waste management director suspended as communities drown in trash

The City of Cape Town has officially suspended the executive director of urban waste management, Luzuko Mdunyelwa.

Daily Maverick revealed last week that Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis tabled a motion to suspend Mdunyelwa during a confidential council meeting. Mdunyelwa is being fingered as the person responsible for the collapse of waste management.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Cape Town mayor moves to suspend director following collapse of waste management

During the meeting, Hill-Lewis confirmed that contractors were hired to clean the filthy townships across Cape Town, at a cost of about R500-million. Contracts started from July 2021 until June 2023 and ran monthly. However, rubbish continued to pile up in and around the Mother City. The city has also had to direct its own staff to carry out the cleaning in areas where contractors were hired to do the job.

Suspended City of Cape executive director, Luzuko Mdunyelwa. (Photo: Supplied)

Hill-Lewis issued Mdunyelwa a seven-day notice to provide a response explaining why he should not be suspended. Speaking to Daily Maverick on Friday, Mdunyelwa said he wrote to the city manager asking for an explanation as to why he was placed on suspension.

“He decided to continue (with the suspension) and has not explained why he was suspending me.”

Mdunyelwa also stated that he had not received any of the reports that were given to the council.

He said he would follow the due process of the disciplinary process and fight against his suspension. He declined to respond to questions as to why he believed he was being unfairly targeted.

Mdunyelwa has been in local government for the past 25 years as a senior official.

A source inside the municipality claimed that Mdunyelwa was being used as a scapegoat for the rot in the council.

This open field in Nyanga has become a dumping site for residents. (Photo: Velani Ludidi)

“In June 2023, the city presented a new waste management plan and received approval. However, the city manager decided against it for reasons only known to him,” said the source, who requested to be quoted anonymously. The source claimed also that two reports tabled in council gave no reference to Mdunyelwa, yet he was now in the centre of the conflict. “The mayor is not giving the public full information about what is happening. The administration finds itself caught in a big infighting among political leaders. Mdunyelwa took action by suspending four managers who were discovered colluding with contractors yet he is seen as the bad guy now," said the source.

The City continues to face challenges in waste collection. GroundUp reported this week that in some areas of Phillipi East, rubbish has not been collected for nine months.

Responding to questions about Mdunyelwa's suspension, speaker Felicity Purchase said details of the suspension served at the Special Confidential Council meeting would remain confidential until due process — in accordance with national legislation — has followed its full and proper course. “There are still further steps which must be followed in this process. While I can assure the public that the matter is being attended to, as resolved at the meeting, I will not be issuing any further comment until the legislated process has been completed.”

The City of Cape Town also declined to give more information stating: “The City previously commissioned an independent investigation into waste management services challenges and is currently following due process in this regard. In the interim, new contractors have been appointed where required and additional staff are being deployed to clear waste management backlogs.” DM