New landfill site no longer a shambles

The residents of Vryheid have been complaining about the local landfill site for years.
Ward Councillor Magda Viktor has taken the brunt of the residents’ complaints and has made it her goal to promote and motivate for a proper landfill site during meetings with the municipality. In 2017, the Department of Environment, Forestry & Fisheries came to the site for a first assessment of the landfill site. They determined that the site was in a shambles. They came to assess the site again in 2018. In 2019, it deteriorated even more in a drastic and expensive way; the lining of the cell was damaged. The department has asked the municipality on several occasions for the area to be cleared so they can start the reconstruction of the site. The department eventually took the responsibility upon themselves and cleared out an area designated for the new cell, the erection of the weighing bridge, guard house, ablution facilities, the office buildings, and the fencing of the legate and storm-water ponds. In January this year, they realised it was a matter of urgency to first of all get the legate and storm-water ponds fenced off, since children from the neighbouring area would regularly sneak in and swim in the water, which led to children allegedly drowning.
On August 7, Mrs Nolita Mkhize, on behalf of the department, signed off on their part of the project and handed the new site over to Mr TS Mthembu, Acting Director of Community Services at AbaQulusi Local Municipality. Mkhize was proud to announce that they only used local contractors and that a transparent process for tenders occurred during the initiation of the project.
The Department of Environment, Forestry & Fisheries extends its appreciation to previous Director of Community Services Mr Zondo, as well as Ward Councillor Magda Viktor for their dedication and support during the project.
As from the end of August, the municipality will be responsible for the security and insurance of the new landfill site, which is worth approximately R25 million. According to the department, who funded the project, the site is almost ready to start operating, once the computers for the weigh bridge and electricity are connected. Since the municipality is the custodian of the landfill site, they have to determine – after all the administrative tasks are complete – when the site will be fully operational.

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