Municipal worker appeals for patience from the community

Three weeks ago, the Herald published an article about Buti Jacob Masike, who lives in the Thabeng section in Ikageng and his constant requests sent the municipality to clean up the dumpsite in his area.

Finally, Masike has found relief after 8 months of battling the municipality to clean up a dumping site in his neighborhood. As part of an ongoing cleaning operation, Antonello Vertyn and other municipal employees were on site on Monday, 12 December, to clean the area.  

“We are trying our best, please bare with us,” Vertyn said. According to the municipal worker, they are on site on a daily basis. “You clean a site today and tomorrow it is filthy,” he said. 

“We are working extremely hard and it isn’t easy,” he added. Vertyn added that he understands the point  that residents are making but is asking them to be a bit more understanding. 

The acting municipal spokesperson, Jeanette Tshite, says the municipality’s recent cleaning campaign that commenced officially in October 2022 was meant to cover all areas / wards within the Municipality’s jurisdiction. “Unfortunately all hotspots  cannot be attended to at once and the scale of waste accumulation in those hotspot areas increases  on a daily basis,” she said. 

Tshite added that there is currently a plan to place mass skip bins on certain prevalent areas as means  of intervention to reduce illegal waste problems. “Residents are once again encouraged to make use of the waste removal trucks of the municipality  that collect waste throughout the wards on a weekly basis,” she concluded.

Vertyn is asking for the community to work together in keeping the sites clean. “ Once a site has been cleaned, can the residents please make use of the skips that are provided instead of littering right next to them,” he said.