Vryheid dumpsite on fire, full story

By midday on Tuesday, the dumpsite still smouldered, releasing a cloud of toxic smoke that blanketed Sasko and surrounds.
It seemed absolutely nothing was being done to stop it.

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Ward 9 Councillor, Magda Viktor said she would be referring the matter to the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Environmental Affairs, after her attempts to get the attention of municipal officials proved fruitless.
“The dumpsite matter is an ongoing problem that needs full attention, if it is to be resolved once and for all. The smoke emitted by all that waste burning up is toxic to the health of the people in Vryheid,” she said.
Cllr Viktor added she had posted details of a petition to her Facebook page, regarding the dumpsite matter.
“I have put up a petition requesting locals to sign the letter, demanding the Municipal Manager, Bonga Ntanzi give more attention to the growing issue of the dumpsite constantly being on fire.

“I am hoping to see all members of the Vryheid community signing up, as this matter needs urgent attention.”

On whether the Fire Department had been contacted with regards the smouldering waste, Cllr Viktor noted a fire in a landfill site would not be properly extinguished by water, as there were numerous layers of plastic and garbage compressed and buried in the ground.
“The fire needs to be extinguished properly using sand, in order to ensure it does not continue to smoulder and burn below the surface,” she explained. AfriForum member and local businessman, Andrè van der Walt also expressed deep distaste at the state of the dumpsite, claiming he had been there several times since it started burning on Saturday afternoon. To date, he said nothing had changed.

“There really isn’t much we as organisations can do. This is a municipal problem that needs to be sorted out by the municipality,” he stated.

Van der Walt pointed out the municipality was previously advised to create firebreaks around the dumpsite, but this had clearly not been done.
As the owner of a local lodge, situated in an area reached by acrid dumpsite smoke, van der Walt said he had voiced his concerns to both Mayor, Jerry Sibiya and administrator for AbaQulusi Municipality, Elphas Dladla.

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“When there is no wind, the smoke usually just settles on my lodge and you honestly can’t breathe. Things are usually slightly better if the fire occurs during windy weather conditions, as the toxic smoke is blown away.”
In conclusion, Cllr Viktor said she would be scheduling a meeting with Dladla this week, to see what could be done about this literally burning issue. Municipal Manager, Bonga Ntanzi was contacted via email regarding the matter. By the time of going to print this week, he had not responded to requests for comment and was also unavailable on his cellphone number.

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