Mamelodi squatter camp residents complain about illegal dumping sites

Residents of Mamelodi are still struggling with loads of rubbish and the consequences of lack of proper handling of refuse and illegal dumping sites.

Saying that illegal dumping sites in squatter camps and on almost every street corner in Mamelodi need to be prioritised for attention by the metro, they have demanded to know how much was set aside to clean these areas in the recently budget Tshwane MMC for Finance Jacqui Uys announced.

She said R111.2-million would go towards clearing illegal dumping and R30.8-million towards renting of specialised equipment to assist in this endeavour.

“The waste department has embarked on a process to ensure every home has a bin,” she said.

“The city is also capacitating our social development department with more social workers to ensure more homes qualify for POP (the Poorest of the Poor indigent programme) to receive free bin collection services when they cannot afford it,” she said.

Merion Masemola of Merry Me Squatter Camp in Mamelodi said the metro should prioritise squatter camps when it comes to clearing illegal dumping sites around Tshwane metro.

She said: “We don’t get any service delivery, especially when it comes to waste collection.

“Residents continue to dump rubbish near my house and they put our health at risk. My family [has] had to inhale the bad smell for years now.”

She said there is no fresh air for them because once they open the windows, the stench comes in. And there are rodents everywhere.

“The R111.2-million for the clearing of illegal dumping is a lot of money, and with R30.8-million for equipment, Tshwane Metro must use it wisely,” said Masemola.

She pleaded with the metro to provide households in squatter camps with free refuse collection services.

Eddie Nkosi of Mahube Valley, Mamelodi East, pleaded with the Metro to keep Mamelodi clean, especially Tsamaya Road, Solomon Mahlangu Drive next to Mams Mall and Solomon Mahlangu Drive next to Moloto Road.

He said he was fed up with the unbearable stench from the illegal dumpsites all over Mamelodi.

“Tshwane waste management must clean all illegal dumping sites, and they should not wait for us to report the dumping sites.”

Nkosi also pleaded with residents of Mamelodi to be responsible citizens and stop littering every where, advising them to instead just burn the dirt if their waste bins are full.

The residents of Mamelodi once held a massive clean-up campaign on Tsamaya Road, one of the busiest streets in the township, and collected tons of waste.

The campaign was organised by Mamelodi East community police forum and Thandanani Drop Inn centre in an effort to keep Mamelodi’s main road, Tsamaya Road, clean.

Metro spokesperson, Lindela Mashigo, said the budget allocated for illegal dumping as indicated in the budget speech is for addressing illegal dumping across the city.

He said this budget will be equally divided among the seven regions, including region 6, where Mamelodi is located.

“The city applies a health/impact risk-based prioritisation assessment to determine which illegal dumping spots will be prioritised for cleaning,” said Mashigo.

This prioritisation will be applied for all dumping sites throughout region 6, including dumping sites in Mamelodi.

He said the risk prioritisation assessment outcome is used to determine which sites will be prioritised, hence it is not possible to give an indication beforehand as to how much will be allocated to a particular area in a region.

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