RESIDENTS in and around Morningside rallied together to clean up Sutton Park recently.
Ward 27 councillor, Ernest Smith, said the group banded together to show their dissatisfaction with the people who come into the community with the sole intention of littering and dumping garbage without any thought for the surrounding community.
“They did this knowing full well that some municipal departments, such as the Parks Department, were not deemed essential services during lockdown, which impacts the way that many of these municipal facilities are managed and maintained. I am proud to represent people who are actively engaged with in the community and who step up to the plate when it is needed the most,” he said.
He said people from all walks of life and some in their late 70s and early 80s showed up to help out.
“This shows that the love for the environment spans across all age groups. They are the true heroes for their efforts and should be proud of themselves for setting the standard!” said Smith, adding that roughly 50 bags of garbage were collected at the clean-up.
Smith said further investigation into the garbage found in the park proved fruitful as it yielded traceable links to business in Durban North, SME startups as well as individual utility bills from eThekwini Municipality, which were handed over to DSW law enforcement.
“In my opinion, it is not only inconsiderate and selfish of people who use the parks facilities to needlessly litter, but to purposefully go into a park or open space with the explicit purpose to dump garbage or dispose of rubbish is downright dastardly. Both acts are by-law infringements that are illegal and have consequences such as fines which I and the larger community gladly welcome to be imposed on anyone found dumping illegally,” he said.
Smith said with the Parks Department beginning to gear up for work, public spaces such as Sutton Park, the open space at the intersection of Keswick and Percy Osborn Roads, the cube on Innes Road, and Mitchell and Jameson Parks, are not in the best of states, with overgrown grass and verges plaguing some of these spaces.
He said these have been communicated to the Parks Department for attention, and as soon as the department is given the go-ahead from the relevant heads they will start tending to the backlog of issues.
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Smith has also communicated with DSW to address certain issues that need attention such as street sweeping on various roads such as Percy Osborn, Sutton Park, Lillian Ngoyi (Windermere) Road, Adrain Road, Hime Road, Rosetta Road, Nimmo Road, Avondale Road, Audley Gardens and Stamford Hill Road.
“Overall, departments have also been hit with the Covid-19 pandemic and this has led to an impact on service delivery. While I completely agree with residents that they should get the service they pay for, one should also bear in mind that the people who provide the services can also be affected by the pandemic,” he said.
If anyone witnesses dumping in the Morningside area, report it, providing a photo that can help trace the culprits, to DSW on 031 311 8804 or email: DSW@durban.gov.za.
Alternatively, email Councillor Smith on ward27@ethekwini.org with the details of the incident, number plates and possible pictures thereof to help identify the culprit.
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