Councillor Ward 101 Ralf Bittkau writes:
About four months ago this Councillor approached the urban inspector, Pikitup, JMPD and the Director of Region C, Mlamleli Belot, to intervene with the situation of illegal dumping and vagrancy next to the NI in Randburg between Jacaranda Road and Malibongwe Drive.
It took a further couple of weeks to arrange a physical visit by these entities to the area.
All representatives agreed that this was a serious situation.
Councillor Bittkau asked them to prepare an urgent proposal of how each entity could assist and to send it to the urban inspector in order to arrange a strategic planning meeting to action the necessary intervention.
Sanral would also have to become involved in order to remove their old pipes from the upgrade of the NI as they are being used as shelters by vagrants.
As there has been no action since then the Councillor wrote yet another e-mail to all concerned including the Regional Director of Region C and the Mayor.
Yet again nothing has materialized.
This in-action by our government and its employees is the direct cause for the problem to have grown to about 4 times its size in a very short time.
The biggest cause of this type of pollution and total degradation of this so-called World-class city lies in exactly this inaction by the authorities.
JMPD is reluctant to do anything even though numerous by-laws are being broken and Pikitup says it is short of funds, the Director and the Mayor just do nothing.
Most of the rubbish is due to the so-called Trolley Brigade using any open space to sort their harvest.
Pikitup wants to include these poorest of the poor in their strategy for separation at source and diversion of waste for recycling.
For this purpose they were tasked to register a measly 300 during the past year yet they only managed 80 across the city.
Furthermore the DA has called repeatedly for the installation of serviced concrete platforms for sorting in the section 79 sub-committee of Council and by approach to the MMC for Environment and Infrastructure, MMC Mfikou, yet we still have to see a single one installed.
In the meantime this city is quickly drowning in a wave of illegal dumping of such proportions that it will cost a small fortune to reverse.
Editor’s note: Letter published unedited.
