Tshwane calls on Sosh to join fight against illegal dumping
"As a heavily industrialised city, Pretoria is decades behind other cities when it comes to recycling and fighting climate change."
Tshwane roads and transport committee chairperson Brendon Govender has called on the government and communities to unite to address and fight illegal dumping.
This was after he facilitated an in-loco visit in ward 37 in Soshanguve on Thursday, July 20.
The visit aimed to find solutions to the maintenance and cleaning of stormwater infrastructure in the area.
“The City is trying, but due to illegal dumping by community members into drainage systems it has become a challenge,” Govender said.
“The residents must not dump rubbish into the channels. During the rainy seasons, the whole area gets flooded including inside houses.”
He said that as a heavily industrialised city, Pretoria is decades behind other cities when it comes to recycling and fighting climate change.
A Soshanguve resident, Sharon Mataboge, said it was important for communities to raise awareness of illegal dumping as it sometimes poses health hazards.
“People need to be taught about illegal dumping. Coming together and working with the metro and councillors in our areas to raise awareness and help tackle illegal dumping would make Pretoria a better city,” she said.
Another community member, William Masondo, said communities need to take charge of making sure that areas are clean without litter.
“We can see NGOs and other community members in different communities taking part in clean-up projects. If we as residents can volunteer to clean, we won’t have issues with drainage systems and blocked stormwater drains,” he said.
Govender said the TMPD should arrest people for illegal dumping, but this was also a challenge due to limited resources.
“We need the community to report people that do illegal dumping. We are busy engaging with stakeholders to find solutions to tackle illegal dumping,” he said.
Residents are encouraged to report illegal dumping to the TMPD on 012 358 7095/6.
Suspects arrested in Garsfontein for human trafficking
Do you have more information about the story?
Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram
