Business holds it breath waiting for clean up of rotten meat
The stand, near the Brakpan Taxi Rank, is a hotspot for illegal dumping, but the latest disposal had people retching and reaching for nose pegs.
Residents and business owners in the vicinity of a vacant stand along Station Road can breathe easy thanks to the actions of DA ward councillor Brandon Pretorius.
Dozens of bags of raw chicken breasts were dumped and left to rot in the scorching sun, emitting a vomit-inducing stench.
Despite reports to the local health department, the dumped poultry festered in the heat for almost a week.
“On Saturday morning I received a call from a Brakpan business owner pleading for assistance as the local health department had not yet assisted with their complaint reported on January 17 that someone had dumped bags of chicken breasts on the vacant stand next to their business premises,” said Pretorius.
“By Saturday morning nothing was done and upon my visit to the site I was shocked.”
Pretorius commented that Ekurhuleni has been preaching to its residents about the listeriosis outbreak, which resulted in 36 deaths by the end of last year.
Also read: EMPD clean up Brakpan Train Station
“It seems the local Brakpan Environmental Health Department does not agree with this importance,” he said.
Listeriosis is food poisoning caused by eating foods contaminated with the Listeria Monocytogenes bacterium.
The bacterium is found in vegetation, soil, water and some animals, including poultry and cattle.
Pretorius explained that he contacted one of the Brakpan Environmental Health Department area managers and was told that it is the responsibility of the Waste Management Department to remove the rotten chicken.
“I then contacted the head of department for Ekurhuleni Waste Management who advised me that it is not their responsibility, but that of the local Environmental Health Department,” he said.
“Upon confronting the area manager it was admitted that it is their responsibility as a department.
“After digging deeper it was found that the department for environmental health has not appointed a contractor and they are paralysed and literally unable to do anything.
“The head of department for Ekurhuleni Environmental Health has not even bothered to come back to me which is very alarming.
“This has just shown again that the current Ekurhuleni administration is not competent enough to run this metro and change is needed fast.”
Pretorius told the Herald he escalated the matter to the Ekurhuleni city manager to ensure accountability.
The councillor’s efforts seem to have spurred action from the metro as the rotting chicken was finally removed on Monday.
This could not have come any sooner as the rancid meat had been set alight, exacerbating the stomach-churning odour.
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