Only 14 out of 200 temporary workers turned up for duty to clean Port Elizabeth’s beaches at the start of the festive season.
The 200 Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) recruits were hired to ensure the city’s beachfront was spotless for the influx of holidaymakers.
This, as the municipality’s permanent staff have, over the years, either taken annual leave or not pitched up for work during the summer season.
But a day after the annual opening-of-season event at Hobie Beach on December 16 – where thousands of revellers packed the beach for the fireworks display and performances by popular DJs Prince Kaybee and Superman – only four temporary workers turned up at the southern beaches to clean up the mess, and a total of 10 turned up at the Wells Estate, Bluewater Bay and Brighton beaches.
The municipality’s public health department was forced to use backup recruits who were waiting in the wings in case those who had been hired absconded.
The 200 casual workers were recruited from wards closest to the beaches, with the project expected to run until January 31 at a cost of R2.9m.
Municipal spokesperson Mthubanzi Mniki said the city’s contingency plan had then kicked in and new recruits had been hired.
“The EPWP department had to check the list of people on the database and screen them. We had to look for middle-aged people who are serious about working and making money because most of those who absconded are youths.
“We had to rehire new people immediately.
“Those [186 who absconded] fired themselves, so we had to get more people to have 100 at the southern beaches, which are Humewood, Hobie and Kings Beach, and 100 for the Wells Estate, Brighton and Bluewater Bay beaches,” Mniki said.
He said of the new temporary workers hired, about 160 had turned up for work at all the beaches on the Day of Goodwill, Wednesday.
“I’m told they have been working. It’s usually the big days that are the problem – Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, so we’ll see how it goes.”
Public health acting executive director Tsietsi Mokonenyane said the turnout of litter pickers had been especially poor in mid-December.
“A full report on this will be made available at the end of the project,” Mokonenyane said.
He said cleaning along the beachfront and townships had not been disrupted as officials had roped in backup casual workers to avert a crisis.
Ward councillors were also called on to bring in people who might be interested in work.
The municipality had a “backup” list in place as part of its contingency plan because only about 10% of temporary recruits turned up for work during the December 2017 summer season.
In a report to the public health committee in October, Mokonenyane wrote: “As from 15 December 2017, i.e. subsequent to the opening of the season event, 90% of the recruited participants had absconded, which seriously compromised operations.
“It should be noted that the majority of the absconded participants were males who were subsequently dismissed and replaced.”
He added that the EPWP workers tended to join the crowds on the beach instead of working.
“It was practically impossible to supervise them as they frequently took off their bibs, which identify them to the supervisory staff, and would join the crowd that was on the beach.”
Mokonenyane said officials were forced to call their permanent staff to return to work as well as put in overtime hours to rescue the situation.
He wrote that workers who absconded during the 2018 festive season would not be used again.
The workers are mainly tasked with ensuring the beachfront is clean by picking up litter, frequently emptying bins, sweeping the streets and cleaning the ablution facilities.
ACDP councillor Lance Grootboom, who serves on the public health committee, said he had been told the project was facing major problems.
“It seems that there is a problem with recruitment. It also seems that when people arrive for work they realise that the job is actually litter-picking.
“They come the first day and then the second day they don’t pitch,” Grootboom said.
He said some of the workers took issue with working hours which run from 6am to 10pm during the festive season.
“Some of the people don’t appreciate that they have to work during the festive season while everyone else is partying.
“This is a big problem because people on the EPWP database seem to not know what work this is. It’s unacceptable because there are hundreds of people who need work,” Grootboom said.
- Additional reporting by Rochelle de Kock