For the past two years, Macdonald and Galant Street residents in Promosa have lived with a growing dumping site.
According to Karen Harwood, one of the residents, it was last cleaned in December 2022, when they took matters into their own hands. They have even reported the situation several times through their ward councillor. The only feedback they receive is that there are not enough service trucks.
Another affected resident, Eva Lavars, who lives in a tuck shop directly across the street from the dump, says the waste has even attracted rats, directly affecting her business.
“For the past few months, I have lost a lot of business because the rats come into my shop and eat my stock,” she said. “All we ever wanted was for the municipality to assist in keeping this area clean.”
Lavars said since her child was only one year old, she had asked the municipality to find out from the community whether they could turn that area into a recreational park. They were always told the land belonged to the service centre nearby.
“My daughter is now 27, and the land has become a place where people dump their waste,” she said. Residents argue that it is unfair that other open spaces in Promosa are cleaned regularly while their area is overlooked.
“If they give us the go-ahead, we will go as far as maintaining this place ourselves if the municipality meets us halfway by providing skips and garden tools,” another resident said. The resident added that despite the hot weather, they keep all their doors and windows shut to prevent the foul smell and rats from entering their homes.
“The place has become a safety hazard because the children pick up all sorts of items from here because they don’t have a safe place to play,” Susan Jonkers said.
The Herald asked the municipality for comment, but none was forthcoming by print time.
