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IOL News
a day ago
- Business
- IOL News
How informal recycling provides a lifeline for South Africa's waste pickers
Waste collectors play an important role and save municipalities R300 million to R750 million annually. Image: Nokuthula Mbatha / Independent Newspapers The high unemployment rate, coupled with limited formal sector opportunities, has pushed many individuals, such as Thabiso Leburu* (not his real name), into informal recycling as a means of survival. Leburu, a former ArcelorMittal employee, said this was an opportunity to generate income and feed his family after his contract ended in 2010. Leburu and other recyclers are camping at a dumping site near the Boipatong landfill site, in the Vaal, where they are attending to every vehicle dropping waste. He said this is their daily routine. They recycle wood, plastics, cans, and bottles. The high unemployment rate, reaching 32.9% in the first quarter of 2025, is driving many to seek alternative income through activities such as waste picking. This informal sector, often referred to as 'survivalist entrepreneurs', plays a crucial role in waste management and contributes to the livelihoods of thousands. The Department of Environmental Affairs' report on the determination of the extent and role of waste picking estimates that there are approximately 62,147 reclaimers in South Africa. However, the department did respond at the time of publication. According to the case study by the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (Seri), the sector recovers an estimated 80% to 90% of paper and packaging materials on an annual basis. Diverting these recyclables saves municipalities R300 million to R750 million annually. The organisation said it was also estimated that the South African economy realised a 52.6% recycling rate for paper and packaging waste because of the work of recyclers. Despite their contribution and resourcefulness, informal recyclers remain poor and marginalised. They are often associated with crime, drug abuse, and lawlessness, a perception perpetuated by exclusionary waste management policies and the treatment they receive from South Africans they encounter. Most often, the informal recyclers do not have access to food of nutritional value or any food at all. This means they often find themselves in the struggle to escape the spiral of food insecurity as they are unable to earn a decent living. Leburu, who is the father of six children, said the sector has changed their lives for the better, adding that many could have been exposed to criminal activities. 'That little money I receive in a day could help me to put bread on the table,' said the 54-year-old, adding that he makes between R30 and R400 a day. He said he used to make good money before the closure of the Boipatong landfill site. The landfill site was closed due to non-adherence to licence conditions, leading to increased illegal dumping in the area. 'Sometimes we don't make money at all. And because we cannot let our kids sleep with empty stomachs, we take stale food here. All we want to see is our kids and families being happy,' he said. His friend, who also requested to remain anonymous, said he has been employed and has been in this sector since 2001. He said this is because he has to feed his family of three children. Seri said the sector continues to attract large numbers of people as it offers low barriers to entry due to limited opportunities. This was despite the occupational hazards and health risks associated with informal recycling. The organisation said many recyclers have some education and skills but are unable to find employment outside of the reclaiming industry. Seri added that 25% of reclaimers in South Africa have completed matric, and some have engaged in formal tertiary studies. The organisation visited the landfill in Orange Farm (known as the Palm Springs landfill) where about 300 people from the area and nearby surrounding areas pick and sort waste. The organisation said these reclaimers deal with several challenges on a day-to-day basis, adding that the safety of the landfill was a concern, especially for women. 'Reclaimers wear no protective clothing, have no access to water and toilets, and are exposed to dangerous chemicals and materials.' 'In addition, reclaimers do not have access to safety equipment and are often harassed by security guards and police.' [email protected]
The Citizen
6 days ago
- The Citizen
Remains of missing toddler Kutlwano Shalaba found in shallow grave
Kutlwano Shalaba's remains were found in a shallow grave in Bekkersdal as police arrested a sangoma and his mother for murder and trafficking. The body of missing toddler Kutlwano Shalaba was found in a shallow grave six months after going missing, with his mother and a sangoma facing murder and human trafficking charges. During Child Protection Week, Gauteng police discovered the body of a child suspected to be the two-year-old who went missing in November 2024. Kutlwano was initially reported missing by his mother, Keneilwe Shalaba. The mother claimed that they were getting out of a taxi in Tshirela, near the Dr Nhlapo stop sign, in Boipatong, when three men approached them in a silver-grey VW Polo. Kutlwano Shalaba's remains found in shallow grave The police reported, at the time, that the suspect grabbed the child and sped off in a car, leaving Keneilwe devastated. However, during investigations, the police uncovered that the mother was involved in Kutlwano's disappearance. Police arrested Keneilwe and the Vanderbiljpark Magistrate's Court denied her bail in April, keeping her behind bars. During her bail hearing, prosecutors revealed that Keneilwe allegedly received, R750 000 into her account on the same day she reported Kutlwano missing. ALSO READ: Gauteng toddler snatched from mother as they climb off taxi The Sedibeng Ster reported that investigators believe she may have sold her son and reported the kidnapping as a cover-up, with further evidence suggesting she tried to orchestrate a ransom demand. Gauteng police spokesperson Captain Tintswalo Sibeko said on Friday that a second suspect, a man believed to be a sangoma, was arrested on Thursday in connection with the toddler's disappearance. During preliminary investigations, he guided the police to a shallow grave at Waterpan Road near R28 in Bekkersdal, where they discovered the remains of a toddler. Sangoma arrested on Thursday 'The remains are suspected to be of Kutlwano, but a DNA analysis will be performed to determine the identity of the corpse,' Sibeko said. The mother and the Sangoma will appear before the Vanderbijlpark Magistrate's Court on Monday, 2 June 2025, to answer to charges of murder and human trafficking. Missing Children South Africa reports that a child goes missing every five hours in South Africa. NOW READ: Joshlin joins long list of missing girls in South Africa
The Star
26-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
ActionSA calls for urgent intervention in Emfuleni municipality crisis
Masabata Mkwananzi | Published 4 hours ago ActionSA has ramped up pressure on Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi and Finance MEC Jacob Mamabolo, demanding that Emfuleni Local Municipality be placed under mandatory administration. The party said years of financial mismanagement, collapsing infrastructure, and failed service delivery have pushed the municipality beyond the point of recovery without urgent national intervention. "It is now imperative that the Gauteng Provincial Government invoke Section 139(5) of the Constitution and place Emfuleni Local Municipality under mandatory administration, with the full oversight of National Treasury." ActionSA Gauteng provincial chairperson, Funzi Ngobeni MPL, has criticised the ongoing oversight failures in Emfuleni, warning that years of ineffective and incomplete interventions under Section 139(1)(b) have allowed the municipality to slide into what he described as a 'full-blown crisis.' Ngobeni stressed that Emfuleni's dire financial state is undeniable, citing the municipality's R7.1 billion debt to Eskom and mounting arrears with Rand Water as key indicators of its insolvency. He added that massive service delivery failures, including 62% water losses and 22% electricity losses — amounting to over R750 million in annual lost revenue — have left basic services out of reach for many residents. 'Ongoing sewer spillages, neglected infrastructure, and collapsed waste management systems have turned essential services into a luxury most communities can no longer count on,' Ngobeni added. Ngobeni further pointed to the ongoing sanitation crisis at the Ramaphosa informal settlement as a glaring example of Emfuleni's collapse. 'The fact that portable toilets have gone unserviced for more than four months is not just unacceptable — it should be the final straw…this level of neglect underscores why urgent intervention through Section 139(5) is no longer optional but absolutely necessary. 'Despite Premier Lesufi's belated instruction to the Gauteng Human Settlements Department to resolve the matter, it is clear that without intentional, decisive provincial intervention, residents will continue to suffer. Emfuleni's failure to provide basic sanitation is not confined to one settlement – it is a systemic, recurring feature of a municipality in collapse,' he said. Previously placed under administration due to chronic service delivery failures, Emfuleni Local Municipality remains in disarray. Ngobeni has slammed the earlier Section 139(1)(b) intervention, terminated in 2022, as a 'disastrous failure.' The party argued that the measure merely offered a façade of oversight while allowing Emfuleni's political leadership to retain control over the budget and continue with unchecked, irresponsible spending. "The situation has now escalated beyond discretionary oversight. ActionSA, therefore, supports the immediate implementation of a financial recovery plan in terms of Section 139(5), which would transfer financial control to National Treasury and impose mandatory reforms," he said. Ngobeni stated that ActionSA has formally submitted a proposal to the Gauteng Legislature's COGTA Committee, urging the Portfolio Committee and Premier Panyaza Lesufi to act swiftly. He said the municipality's dire financial state requires immediate fiscal control by the National Treasury to enforce a funded and credible budget capable of addressing years of financial mismanagement. 'An immediate fiscal control by National Treasury to enforce a funded and credible budget, aggressive debt recovery aligned with Eskom's debt relief framework, and prioritised infrastructure restoration in water, electricity, and sanitation,' said Ngobeni. He further added that stabilising the municipality's leadership is also crucial to turning things around. 'Appointing a permanent Municipal Manager and Chief Financial Officer without delay is vital to restoring governance and accountability in Emfuleni.' ActionSA is not the only political party placing pressure on the embattled Emfuleni Local Municipality. As previously reported by The Star , the Democratic Alliance (DA) has also taken decisive action by referring the municipality to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC). The DA is calling for a full investigation, citing long-standing and severe service delivery failures. According to the party, these failures have subjected residents to inhumane living conditions, effectively violating their constitutional rights to basic services such as clean water, adequate sanitation, and a safe and healthy environment. The Star [email protected]
IOL News
26-05-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
ActionSA calls for urgent intervention in Emfuleni municipality crisis
ActionSA is demanding that the Gauteng Premier place Emfuleni Local Municipality under mandatory administration due to years of financial mismanagement and service delivery failures that have led to a crisis. Image: Itumeleng English Independent Newspapers ActionSA has ramped up pressure on Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi and Finance MEC Jacob Mamabolo, demanding that Emfuleni Local Municipality be placed under mandatory administration. The party said years of financial mismanagement, collapsing infrastructure, and failed service delivery have pushed the municipality beyond the point of recovery without urgent national intervention. "It is now imperative that the Gauteng Provincial Government invoke Section 139(5) of the Constitution and place Emfuleni Local Municipality under mandatory administration, with the full oversight of National Treasury." ActionSA Gauteng provincial chairperson, Funzi Ngobeni MPL, has criticised the ongoing oversight failures in Emfuleni, warning that years of ineffective and incomplete interventions under Section 139(1)(b) have allowed the municipality to slide into what he described as a 'full-blown crisis.' Ngobeni stressed that Emfuleni's dire financial state is undeniable, citing the municipality's R7.1 billion debt to Eskom and mounting arrears with Rand Water as key indicators of its insolvency. He added that massive service delivery failures, including 62% water losses and 22% electricity losses — amounting to over R750 million in annual lost revenue — have left basic services out of reach for many residents. 'Ongoing sewer spillages, neglected infrastructure, and collapsed waste management systems have turned essential services into a luxury most communities can no longer count on,' Ngobeni added. Ngobeni further pointed to the ongoing sanitation crisis at the Ramaphosa informal settlement as a glaring example of Emfuleni's collapse. 'The fact that portable toilets have gone unserviced for more than four months is not just unacceptable — it should be the final straw…this level of neglect underscores why urgent intervention through Section 139(5) is no longer optional but absolutely necessary. 'Despite Premier Lesufi's belated instruction to the Gauteng Human Settlements Department to resolve the matter, it is clear that without intentional, decisive provincial intervention, residents will continue to suffer. Emfuleni's failure to provide basic sanitation is not confined to one settlement – it is a systemic, recurring feature of a municipality in collapse,' he said. Previously placed under administration due to chronic service delivery failures, Emfuleni Local Municipality remains in disarray. Ngobeni has slammed the earlier Section 139(1)(b) intervention, terminated in 2022, as a 'disastrous failure.' The party argued that the measure merely offered a façade of oversight while allowing Emfuleni's political leadership to retain control over the budget and continue with unchecked, irresponsible spending. "The situation has now escalated beyond discretionary oversight. ActionSA, therefore, supports the immediate implementation of a financial recovery plan in terms of Section 139(5), which would transfer financial control to National Treasury and impose mandatory reforms," he said. Ngobeni stated that ActionSA has formally submitted a proposal to the Gauteng Legislature's COGTA Committee, urging the Portfolio Committee and Premier Panyaza Lesufi to act swiftly. He said the municipality's dire financial state requires immediate fiscal control by the National Treasury to enforce a funded and credible budget capable of addressing years of financial mismanagement. 'An immediate fiscal control by National Treasury to enforce a funded and credible budget, aggressive debt recovery aligned with Eskom's debt relief framework, and prioritised infrastructure restoration in water, electricity, and sanitation,' said Ngobeni. He further added that stabilising the municipality's leadership is also crucial to turning things around. 'Appointing a permanent Municipal Manager and Chief Financial Officer without delay is vital to restoring governance and accountability in Emfuleni.' ActionSA is not the only political party placing pressure on the embattled Emfuleni Local Municipality. As previously reported by The Star, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has also taken decisive action by referring the municipality to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC). The DA is calling for a full investigation, citing long-standing and severe service delivery failures. According to the party, these failures have subjected residents to inhumane living conditions, effectively violating their constitutional rights to basic services such as clean water, adequate sanitation, and a safe and healthy environment. The Star [email protected] ActionSA is demanding that the Gauteng Premier place Emfuleni Local Municipality under mandatory administration due to years of financial mismanagement and service delivery failures that have led to a crisis. Image: File
The Citizen
09-05-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Do you still need cash? Banks closing ATMs, except Capitec
Those who earn less than R750 000 per annum have traditionally relied more on cash. The world is moving towards doing everything digitally, from shopping to attending meetings, paying bills, taking out loans and even consulting a doctor. This is no different in South Africa. Even many fast-food stores, such as KFC, McDonald's and Burger King, have transitioned to self-service machines that only accept bank cards or vouchers. If most of the things consumers need money for can be paid without having physical money in hand, is there still a need for automated teller machines (ATMS)? Based on the information gathered by The Citizen from Capitec, Absa, FNB and Standard Bank, the decision to keep ATMs is influenced by customer behaviour, location and how much people in certain areas earn. ALSO READ: Challenges and opportunities of becoming a cashless society Capitec getting more ATMs Many banks in the country are gradually reducing their ATM footprint nationwide as they observe a rise in digital transactions. However, Capitec told The Citizen it will be doing the opposite. 'We are driven by a simple belief: banking should be transparent, affordable and accessible for every South African. That's why, even as many others scale back, we are continuing to grow our physical presence,' said Francois Viviers, group executive of marketing and communications at Capitec. By end of February 2025, Capitec had more than 8 797 ATMs and cash-accepting devices across the country. Viviers said they are passionate about encouraging digital adoption, but they cannot ignore the fact that millions of South Africans still depend on cash to manage their daily lives. Digital wallets growth He added that for them, it is not about choosing one channel over another; it is about ensuring no one is left behind. 'We are seeing strong momentum in digital usage. As of Tuesday, 13 million of our clients actively use our app and in the past year alone, card payments increased by 18%, totalling more than 2.4 billion transactions. 'E-commerce transactions surged by 47% and more than one million clients now use digital wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay.' Goal of building a digitally led model However, things are different at Absa. The bank's spokesperson told The Citizen in 2024 it reduced the number of ATMs by 2% to 5 138 due to the shift to digital-first banking transactions. 'This strategic shift supports Absa's long-term goal of building a digitally led, future-ready banking model by allowing us to reallocate resources to platforms that serve a broader range of customer needs with greater efficiency.' The spokesperson added that its approach is data-driven, customer-centric geographic analysis, which considers transaction volumes, customer preferences, crime patterns and the availability of alternative cash access points (such as partner retailers) in each area. ALSO READ: Tap-and-pay becomes more popular among South Africans High digital adoption Absa has observed that in regions with high digital adoption or proximity to alternative cash access points, ATM usage is generally consistently low, which allows it to optimise its operations in these environments. In some locations, Absa has removed ATMs as it enhances partnerships with retail outlets and enable alternative cash access points through cash at the till functionality. 'Over the past few years, particularly since the pandemic, we have seen a consistent decline in ATM usage as more customers embrace digital and card-based transactions. 'Digital transaction volumes have grown by double digits year-on-year, while the demand for cash transactions continues to decline.' The need for cash decreasing Zibu Nqala, CEO for FNB pointspof Presence, told The Citizen it had noticed a significant shift in transactional behaviour among its customers with a decreasing need for cash. For its customers who earn more than R750 000 per annum, cash has historically played a minor role, accounting for only 4% of their total payments. 'This trend has remained consistent, reflecting a preference for digital and card-based transactions,' Nqala said However, those who earn les than R750 000 per annum have traditionally relied more on cash. 'However, this figure has now decreased to 25%, indicating a clear downward trend.' This shift is accompanied by an increased use of cards and real-time payments, due to the growing adoption of digital payment methods. ALSO READ: South Africans move to contactless payments Urban customers Nqala added that FNB sees urban customers migrating to digital payments more aggressively than rural customers. 'That is why we ensure that we have representation for rural customers through our various points of presence and retailer partnerships. We therefore empower our customers by giving them a choice in how they transact, regardless of their preference for cash or digital transactions.' The below year-on-year look at FNB's self-service device (SSD) numbers as of December 2024 helps to paint the picture of how it has reduced its footprint. Three-year view of SSD numbers (December 2024): Device Type 22 Dec 23 Dec 24 Dec Automated Deposit Tellers (ADTs) 2 007 2 102 2 166 ATMs 2 484 2 394 2 319 Retailers 185 183 171 Statement Printing Kiosk 103 101 97 Bulk Deposit Taking 10 10 17 Total 4 789 4 790 4 770 Table: Supplied by FNB 'FNB's decisions on footprint have been primarily driven by local market alignment, customer trends, device economics and the bank's continuous evaluation of device placement,' said Nqala. She added that if FNB removes any devices, it is done with a calculated approach to ensure there are sufficient alternative points of presence in the local markets so that there is no impact on customers. Standard Bank upgrades its ATMs According to Standard Bank's annual integrated report for the year ended 31 December 2024, the bank has reduced its physical branches and in-store kiosks from 1 206 in 2023, to 1 168 in 2024. When it comes to ATMS, it has reduced its footprint from 6 014 in 2023 to 5 562 in 2024. 'Our clients benefit from our extensive network of branches, cost-effective kiosks, ATMs, dedicated call centres and retail partners,' reads the report. NOW READ: Capitec CEO tops banking pay charts — but how do staff salaries compare? A look at how SA's top five banks pay
