eThekwini DA councillor Hlengiwe Shozi raised concerns about the Recreation and Parks Directorate’s capacity to handle service delivery issues, prompting a response from the municipality.

Shozi highlighted challenges within the parks department, including equipment failures, staff shortages, slow grass cutting, and inadequate responses to complaints.

Adverse weather, public protests, and industrial action are factors that can disrupt the grass-cutting schedule in the eThekwini Municipality.

To compensate for lost time, the municipality extends working hours and continues operations over weekends.

Shozi said that residents across eThekwini have raised concerns regarding grass cutting and verge maintenance. 

During a council meeting in October, the municipality responded to Shozi’s statement, stating that grass cutting implementation is managed and monitored by contract officers across the division.

The municipality said that the management of parks and leisure holds regular meetings to monitor operations across the division, including verge grass cutting. 

Shozi was also concerned about the availability of hydraulic cranes with a railed platform, commonly known as cherry pickers. The department stated that they have 17 cherry pickers, with 10 being operational.

“The repairs and maintenance of cherry pickers are outsourced to the eThekwini City fleet. We are subjected to their timelines with respect to repairs. They intend to repair and return six by the end of November 2025. The remaining cherry picker at the panel shop will return by January 30, 2026,” the municipality stated. 

In response to Shozi’s question about having sufficient equipment to service all districts, the municipality said it procures small and heavy plant equipment every year through a three-year contract for the supply and delivery.

Regarding staff vacancies, Shozi was informed that 45 vacancies are slated to be filled by March 2026. The municipality also reported significant progress, indicating that the unit filled 381 positions from July 2024 to July 2025.

In response to queries about the tree-cutting schedule for all wards and the prioritisation of urgent requests, the municipality stated that it utilises a complaints management system.

It further clarified that emergencies take priority when assigning work to teams. Examples of such emergencies include trees obstructing road access and amenities closure due to collapsed trees, where a team is dispatched immediately to clear access.

zainul.dawood@inl.co.za

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