Ongoing illegal dumping site frustrates residents

For as long as the Thabeng section, Ward 14 residents can remember, the dumping site in their area remains an unresolved problem. “ We have been reporting this issue to our councilor for years and all they keep telling us is that they will come and clear it up, till today,” Katlego Majola said. 

What baffles residents is that from time to time the municipality comes and deals with surrounding dumping sites but never attends to theirs. Residents have even taken matters into their own hands by ensuring that the site is often well managed. “It is in a far better condition that it usually is,” Lungile Majola, another resident said. 

“ We often gather the filth and dispose of it elsewhere,” he added.

Residents say if they don’t clean themselves the site grows into a large heap that emits an unbearable smell. 

The residents also added that what is even more concerning is that the filth is caused by people who don’t even live in that area. “ People come from other areas takes mean to even drive here to dump their trash,” Nation  Noholoza.

“We have even built a barricade to prevent people from dumping here,” he added. 

“People throw all sorts of things in here like dead animals and expired food. The smell is terrible whenever it is extremely hot,” he added. 

The residents complain that they have traveled to the municipality numerous times but one ever assists them. “ We use our petrol to travel there and they keep telling us they will come clean till today,” Katlego Majola said. 

In a previous article the acting municipal spokesperson, Jeanette Tshite, said the municipality’s 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.

The Herald asked the municipality for another comment but none was forthcoming in time of print.