Johannesburg's refuse collection crisis is no longer an inconvenience. It has become a public health emergency and another reminder that residents are paying the price for years of political incompetence.

As Pickitup faces the prospect of an unprotected strike amid ongoing labour disputes, staff shortages and operational instability, thousands of households have been left wondering when or if their refuse will be collected. 

Across many communities, rubbish continues to pile up on pavements, outside schools, and at shopping centres. The smell of decomposing waste has become commonplace, while rodents, flies and other disease-carrying pests flourish.

This situation did not arise overnight. It is the predictable consequence of an administration that has allowed the City's finances to deteriorate to such an extent that it can no longer meet basic obligations.

One of the most troubling aspects of this crisis is the City's growing debt to service providers. Many businesses that have delivered services in good faith are waiting months for payment, with invoices worth millions of rand remaining outstanding. 

These unpaid service providers are not simply numbers on a balance sheet. They are businesses employing Johannesburg residents, supporting local economies and providing critical municipal services.

The Gauteng Provincial Treasury's recently announced 'Unpaid Service Providers Imbizo' is being presented as a solution to this growing crisis. Unfortunately, it resembles more of a panic-driven public relations exercise than a genuine intervention. By the time government calls an imbizo to discuss unpaid invoices, the damage has already been done.

For years, corruption, wasteful expenditure, political interference and weak financial controls have eroded the City's ability to deliver services. Budgets that should have maintained infrastructure, supported frontline services and paid legitimate suppliers have instead been undermined by poor governance and questionable spending decisions.

ActionSA believes residents deserve better than perpetual crisis management. Essential services cannot continue operating under fragmented systems that create duplication, inefficiency and weak accountability. Shared corporate services should strengthen operational departments, not become administrative bottlenecks that delay procurement, payments and service delivery.

ActionSA supports a disciplined approach to municipal administration, including strategically insourcing functions where it delivers better value for money, stronger oversight and accountability. 

Where the City has become overly dependent on fragmented outsourced arrangements that are poorly managed, reform is necessary. However, insourcing must be accompanied by sound financial management, transparent procurement, consequence management for officials who fail to process legitimate payments, and modern digital systems that allow suppliers to track invoices and payment schedules.

A City that pays its suppliers on time protects service delivery. A City that manages its workforce responsibly avoids disruptive labour disputes. A City that exercises financial discipline earns the confidence of investors, businesses and residents alike.

Residents should not have to live alongside decomposing refuse because government failed to pay its bills. Children should not have to walk past overflowing rubbish heaps to get to school. Businesses should not lose customers because waste collection has collapsed.

ActionSA is committed to restoring professionalism, accountability and financial discipline across the City of Johannesburg. We will prioritise paying service providers within agreed contractual timeframes, strengthen financial controls, eliminate wasteful expenditure, modernise shared corporate services and ensure every department is held accountable for service delivery outcomes.

The refuse crisis is not merely about rubbish. It is about leadership. Leadership is measured not by the number of imbizos called after failure, but by the ability to ensure that basic services continue without interruption. 

Johannesburg’s refuse crisis is not the result of bad luck. It is the consequence of years of financial mismanagement, weak governance and a failure to prioritise service delivery. Residents deserve a City that pays its service providers on time, manages its finances responsibly and prevents crises. 

ActionSA will restore accountability, professionalise the administration and ensure that basic services are delivered with consistency, competence and integrity. Johannesburg cannot be governed through panic interventions, it must be governed through planning, discipline and decisive leadership.

Written by ActionSA Joburg MMC Candidate for Group Corporate & Shared Services Nandi Ndaba