Pienaar residents are fed up with filth and stench in the township
Illegal dumping of rubbish or dirt is the order of the day here, but locals are finally taking a stand and are calling on the City of Mbombela Local Municipality (CMLM) to take action.
Residents are fed up with the filth and stench in one of the biggest townships in the Nsikazi area. Litter ranging from empty beer bottles, tins, used diapers, to rotten food, used condoms and plastic idly lies near a huge municipal dump bin at the bus stop near the Usave supermarket. Residents blame tavern owners and passing motorists for littering. Some hold the municipal waste management unit responsible for not collecting rubbish at all.
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They alleged that litter was last collected more than a month ago, and added that collectors only gather what they find inside the waste skip bin and leave the rest to pile up. They complained that rodents, flies and other insects have established this as a breeding site. A local entrepreneur, Dumsani Masilela of G7 Theatre Production, said, “Pienaar used to be one of the cleanest places. I don’t know what went wrong. This is our main bus shelter in this section. “It is strategically located next to the main road, and everyone going to town and neighbouring areas pass here daily. It’s a threat to our health. I believe that this is everyone’s fault and therefore should be everyone’s business, both leaders and ordinary members of the community.
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“My plea to everyone is that they should stop polluting the environment. This is bad for everyone’s health; children pass by on their way to school and commuters stand nearby while waiting for their transport,” he continued.
“One cannot even sit under a tree at home and relax due to the bad smell coming from that place. We are afraid to open our windows at home, not to mention the thought of seeing our children play there,” said gogo Mavis Ndima, who owns a house next to the road. Benjamin Magogo, an independent environmentalist, said the issue of illegal littering and air pollution is of great concern.
He revealed that his organisation conducted a case study on the subject in the area 2015. “We tried to engage with the local tribal authorities to have an agreement with the local property owners and shopping complexes to contribute a certain percentage towards helping CMLM’s waste management unit in collecting and managing waste as part of their corporate social investment. There were no resolutions between the parties,” he said. Magongo added that he had tried many times to engage other stakeholders to establish a forum that can bring about better solutions. “Until now, no one has been interested to schedule an appointment to start these discussions,” he said. Joseph Ngala, spokesperson for CMLM, had not responded to media queries at the time of going to press.
