Municipality fails to clean up as “promised”

“We promise, we’ll come and have a look.”
That’s what a woman from Mbobi Street in Ikageng says has been the response from the municipality when she calls about the illegal dumpsite in her area.

“While they keep biting their tongue about how this issue is going to be resolved, the waste just keeps piling up,” the women said.
Maria* says residents continue to point the finger of responsibility at each other, which just adds to the situation, “I’ve thought about cleaning it up with a team of volunteers but I get demotivated by how unbothered the other residents seem,” she said.

“For crying out loud, it’s right next to a school; how can we let our children learn under these circumstances? I hope there will be a resolution soon.

“The bottles of liquid,” she says, pointing. “You have no idea what else is in there and you don’t want to mess with that. The municipality has to take responsibility,” she lamented.
“Slowly but surely, many parts of Potchefstroom will be contaminated by illegal waste and barely anyone seems to care,” she added.

Maria said she and a few residents are especially fed up with the situation because they pay rates to live in these conditions.

“We deserve better service delivery; this is absolutely unacceptable,” she said. “I have a rash and I’ve been to the doctor. He said it’s caused by a poison or by inhaling something. We have granddaughters who are getting sick too,” she said.

Another resident, who asked not to be named, said she did not allow her granddaughter to play outside because of how bad the smell is. “It stinks when it’s hot and after it rains. It’s so bad that you can’t even leave the windows open,” she said.

Maria urges residents to continue reporting illegal dumping and be responsible by taking care of the environment and ensuring that their neighbourhoods are kept clean.
The Herald asked the municipality for comment but had received no feedback by the time of going to print.