Plastic City: DA requests intervention from ministers

Following the collapse of Main Reef Road last year due to illegal mining and the road's subsequent closure, DA MP Ashor Sarupen wrote to both the minister of Mineral Resources and the minister of Human Settlements for their urgent intervention.

January 13, 2021

Brakpan Herald 2 minutes read

The DA in Ekurhuleni has vowed to continue applying pressure to ensure action is taken regarding the Plastic City informal settlement and the illegal activities taking place within its vicinity.

Following the collapse of Main Reef Road last year due to illegal mining and the road’s subsequent closure, DA MP Ashor Sarupen wrote to both the minister of Mineral Resources and the minister of Human Settlements for their urgent intervention.

He requested the Department of Mineral Resources to secure the area and immediately prevent any further illegal mining to ensure damage to the surrounding area as well as Main Reef road is halted.

He requested the Department of Human Settlements ensures the City of Ekurhuleni takes steps to secure the necessary relocation of the individuals living in the settlement to suitable, safe, alternative accommodation with, if necessary, an eviction order from court.

It was also requested that the existing occupied land be secured from further occupation as it is unsuitable for human settlement.

“There has been no response to the above questions as yet. Ashor has followed up and will keep on applying pressure to ensure response is given and action gets taken,” said DA councillor for Ward 97 in Brakpan Brandon Pretorius.

“As the DA, we will continue the fight for our residents.

“The City of Ekurhuleni and its officials need to realise their neglect and unwillingness to do their work will come to an end.”

Read: WATCH: Plastic City gutted by fire

According to Pretorius, it has been confirmed by the local roads department that the infrastructure collapse is due to the illegal activities taking place.

“The direct cause is the illegal mining taking place within the area,” he said.

“The City and its executive continue to turn a blind eye and ignore the illegal activities of the Plastic City occupants.”

Pretorius told the Herald the detour road which has been created as an alternative route for motorist is now being used by some of the settlement’s occupants to expand their illegal activities without any fear.

“It shows the double standards of the City when it comes to enforcing by-laws, which continues to rightfully cause outrage among taxpaying residents of Brakpan,” he said.

“There has been no further update with regards to when work will start besides the response from the City that the project will commence in the 2021/2022 financial year.

“This basically means the occupants can continue with their activities and keep on destructing the road as nothing gets done by authorities to prevent further illegal activities.

“The concerning fact remains that if the City does not deal with Plastic City and its illegal activities it will just be a matter of time before the next infrastructure collapses.

“It still amuses me that the only people who can see the illegal connections running across the road, illegal dumping of recyclables, illegal mining with large earth moving equipment and all the other illegal activities are residents and not the numerous officials who constantly use the very same roads.”