BLUE overalls on; thick white gloves on; begin work – the acting municipal manager, Vusumuzi Mavuso, swapped his desk for the street to get to grips with Buffalo City's over-burdened dump sites and uncollected refuse.

Early on Thursday, 4 February he was hands-on as 14 trucks from the City's solid-waste management section were dispatched to three problematic areas – Duncan Village, Quigney and Vincent. Six trucks were sent to Duncan Village, four each to the other suburbs.

Buffalo City plans to eradicate the litter on its streets and pavements over the next two months and says that problem areas will be assessed every weekend. The initiative was announced at a regular morning session with shop stewards, supervisors, drivers and team leaders.

Speaking at one of Duncan Village's refuse collection points, Mavuso said: "After seeing the refuse around the areas, in Duncan Village especially, I now have a good sense of what needs to be done."

The inadequate sanitation needed to be addressed urgently as it was affecting the dignity of the people of Duncan Village, he added. On a visit to the municipal public ablution facilities in the area, his frown indicated that he was not impressed.

"We need to find a better way of doing this – even if it's replacing these facilities with chemical ablutions, but the situation here is not acceptable for people."

Mavuso mucked in with waste management workers and cleaned up each refuse collection point in Duncan Village; and his dissatisfaction was clear at each stop. "People tend to dump everywhere – even in areas that are not suitable. It's causing a backlog in the waste management section."

But it was not all doom and gloom – while walking the streets of Duncan Village, Mavuso acknowledged the good work being done by the street sweepers and praised them for their role in cleaning the suburb.

Recent discussions with unions about staff shortages, unreliable workers and the dysfunctional waste collection system prompted him to get involved. "During these discussions I heard that [there were] serious problems with the refuse system they were currently using, which were caused by poor communication between employee and manager.

"The Office of the Municipal Manager changed that and opened the lines of communication between management and employees … [that is why] we are here today."

Mavuso is hopeful that this initiative will help to restore the city's dignity and boost municipal administration.

"The current plan is that management meets with employees at least once a quarter and at other monthly engagements with representatives in order to deal with problems as they happen,” he said.