Residents in Centurion said they were sick and tired of the chaos at the Rooihuiskraal dump site. Rekord received a complaint recently that the site was closed on Saturday and that residents were not informed, resulting in many being turned away with their refuse.
Mike Joubert, a resident, said he woke up early on Saturday morning to go dump his rubbish only to find out that his efforts were in vain, as he was turned away by the site supervisor without a proper explanation. “The site was supposed to be opened at 09:00, but when I got there the gate was closed and I had to go back home with the refuse. This is unacceptable. Employees of the Tshwane metro do not think about the community. The municipality should inform us properly if there are going to be any changes in order to avoid situations such like this,” said Joubert.
One of the residents who experienced that same challenge, Dries Sonnekus, said he was also turned away at the mini-garbage dumps in Rooihuiskraal. He said that the gate on the northern side was closed and that the exit on the southern side was blocked by refuse bins. “I had a truck full of garden refuse that I ended up dumping just outside. The site supervisor took some photos, but I don’t know what he was planning to do with them. I will just wait and see if I’m issued with a fine or not.”
Ward 69 councillor Marietha Aucamp said the Rooihuiskraal and other mini-landfill sites were apparently full and with the recent rainy weather, were flooded. According to her, the situation is being given attention. “The workers at these sites have been on strike for almost two weeks. They are striking because they have not been issued with the proper clothing to perform their work, since they don’t have any in store. The tender process was not completed for the clothes. I have written to the MMC for agriculture and environment, as well as the mayor to request that these matters receive urgent attention and to ensure that the illegal dumping which emanated from this be cleaned up without delay.”
DA councillor Hilda Weber and spokesperson on agriculture and environment in the Tshwane metro said in a statement that the delay in refuse removal in the city and the refusal of entrance to members of the public at landfill sites were caused by bad planning. She said over and above the rain contributing to bad conditions at the landfill sites, officials servicing these sites had been on strike for the past two weeks due to a tender not awarded to provide protective clothing to them.
“Although we sympathise with the workers, the blame must be placed squarely on senior management for the poor planning. The excuse that there is a delay in the tender process is no consolation to the residents, who have had to endure refuse on their pavements for weeks. This not only poses a health hazard, but is also unacceptable in a city ‘igniting excellence’. Surely there should be enough clothing in the stores? The reason is more than likely that the stores are badly controlled and no one takes responsibility for keeping proper records and re-ordering as things are signed out. The DA calls on the responsible city officials to investigate the delay and rectify any shortcomings. After all, we owe it to the ratepayers to provide an efficient and effective service,” said Weber. An enquiry was sent to the metro, but at the time of going to print, no response had been received.
