The eThekwini Municipality has set its sights on cleaning up areas affected by illegal dumping. The municipality has focused first on Pinetown. The areas of Ashley, Caversham Glen, and Marianhill Park, among others in the vicinity, have been experiencing the onslaught of waste being openly discarded across the environment. The crisis has grown despite attempts by the municipality to conduct clean-up efforts.
Ward 16 DA PR Councillor Nomfundo Khubone said in a press statement to The Citizen that the eThekwini Municipality’s Durban Solid Waste (DSW) – The Department of Cleansing and Solid Waste – conducted a clean-up on Thursday, 15 January, along James Hurbert Road, Caversham Glen in Pinetown, where illegal dumping is a chief concern.
The PR councillor said there is “a lot of illegal dumping” in the ward, which reoccurs within days or weeks after DSW has done a clean-up. Khubone said she has spoken at length about this issue on social media community groups, urging residents to meet the municipality halfway. The councillor said she has encouraged that those who dump illegally should be reported, and where possible, pictures of them caught in the act taken as evidence, so that the necessary steps can be taken. “Nobody knows whether it is people in the area or people who come from outside. Some residents have claimed that businesses are behind the illegal dumping but evidence is needed so that guilty parties can be identified and follow-ups can be done, so that the law may be enforced,” said Khubone.
Last year, said Khubone, following an oversight visit, some DA councillors met with officials from DSW to address the issue. “I have no complaints with the operations side from DSW; where I feel more needs to be done is on the side of education and raising awareness,” said Khubone.
It is right for the municipality to argue that due legal process must follow to prove a person’s guilt in a crime. Residents should arrange cameras to be placed at frequented dumping sites so that offenders can be recorded. If there is a risk of the cameras being damaged, community members should make arrangements for some of their own to remain hidden and wait for the perpetrators to appear, then take photographs. Illegal dumping is unacceptable.
The disposal of waste of any kind can cause serious harm to drinking water and the soil. Education on proper waste disposal needs to take place between the municipality and the affected community. The perpetrators responsible for illegal dumping activities must be exposed and if they continue their illicit practices, they must be brought to justice.
The key as Councillor Khubone said, is raising awareness about the situation and alerting others. Education, both in schools and within the community is of the utmost importance. Vagrancy and the scourge of drugs continues to be issues across the eThekwini region. The Municipality began tackling this situation last Friday under the M4 Free Way, and Che Guevara Road.
For more than a decade, vagrants and drug addicts have played a cat-and-mouse game with municipality officials at the southern entrance to the Durban CBD, commonly referred to as the Albert Park area. The municipality had been moving vagrants away from this zone, only for them to reoccupy another plot of land within the zone. For two months, they had occupied the pavement and traffic lanes of Che Guevara Road, making it an unsightly and dangerous intersection for motorists and businesses in the lower Umbilo area. On Friday, the municipality focused on street sweeping, litter picking, removal of illegal dumping, and dismantling of the unlawful structures. The operation was led in collaboration with eThekwini Supply Side and Area-Based Operations, the Waste Management Directorate, Durban metro police, and supported by Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) employees.
Doran Subiah, chairperson of the Umbilo Business Association (UBA), said that any action that resulted in a cleaner, safer environment for businesses, residents, and visitors is a step in the right direction.
The matter of vagrants and the drug addicts in particular, remains a complex and grim issue. This problem impacts not only the present of the municipality, but also its future. It is a road not yet travelled, riddled with obstacles and hurdles. These obstacles include questions surrounding the legal status of vagrants and addicts, and whether they can be rehabilitated. Addressing rehabilitation, also requires consideration of age: the elderly must be separated from the young, and addicts separated from the sober. The matter of these peoples’ future must then be addressed. Cleaning the streets and tackling illegal dumping should be handled with the utmost care, but vagrancy and drug-addiction may never truly disappear. These concerns can, be contained, and should be done in cooperation between the municipality and the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government.
It is necessary for the eThekwini Municipality to do its utmost to create a path acceptable for the coastal region’s future. The city of Durban is a major tourist hub; however, it must be cared for. To achieve this, issues such as poverty, drug addiction, and waste management must be addressed.
Article written by:
Yacoob Cassim
Journalist at Radio Al Ansaar
