POLOKWANE – Taxi operators at the Indian Centre taxi rank in the city are disgusted with the Polokwane Municipality for reportedly not collecting refuse from the bins at the taxi rank for the past three months.
According to them, the municipality is not taking their health or their businesses seriously.
The refuse bins had been overflowing for months with people being forced to throw rubbish elsewhere, with a large pile of rubbish in a corner of the rank.
The taxi operators did not want to be identified for fear of victimisation.
One man said the matter had been reported to the municipality but nothing had been done in spite of promises that the matter would be attended to.
“We now resort to burning the rubbish but this does not work very well as some items like bottles do not burn easily, and our cars can be damaged by glass. There is also the danger of the fire getting out of control,” he said.
Another taxi operator said their filthy surroundings made them look as if they were dirty people and uncaring towards their environment.
He said on rainy days the problem was worse with rubbish floating around.
“We have tried all we can to alert the municipality and we are tired of doing so, because nothing is being done.
As taxi operators we have decided not to participate in the upcoming elections because it does not help to vote for people who do not care about us and our businesses,” he said.
He added that only one out of four street lights at the taxi rank was working, making it dangerous for everyone.
Ronald Sekoati, who uses the taxi rank daily to travel to Madiba Park said the rank had turned into a health hazard. “How can these people expect us to be happy using taxis in an environment like this?”
Municipal spokesperson, Matshidiso Mothapo, acknowledged that the matter had been brought to the municipality’s attention and would be investigated soon.
“Taxi operators and residents should use the container bins instead of littering so that we can have a cleaner environment,” he said, despite the fact that the container bins were overflowing.
Problems with refuse can be reported to the municipality at (015) 290 2000.
