WATCH: Rubbish strewn in the streets of Kya Sand
KYA SAND – The community says Pikitup is not cleaning the informal settlement.
The streets of Kya Sand and Bloubosrand were trashed with litter by community members and Pikitup workers on 19 October.
In a video sent to the Randburg Sun, waste management workers can be seen protesting by littering the streets with trash.
This, according to community leaders, is due to the workers not being paid for the past two months, and other community members joining them after being fed up with the non-collection of waste.
Police were on the scene to monitor the situation, firing tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.
Kya Sand community leader Billy Modikwe said, “We are concerned about our informal settlement. Pikitup is not cleaning our area and is only worried about the suburbs surrounding it. They forget about the poorest people.”
He added that they had taken the rubble and trash and spread it on the roads of the suburbs and the industrial area so that Pikitup can see the extent of the trash the community have to live with and take it away.
Community members claim that Pikitup has not removed trash from the informal settlement for the past three months and that it was piling up to such an extent that it is becoming a health hazard.
According to Modikwe, what helped fuel the fire of the protest was the alleged discovery of two abandoned foetuses found in a pile of dumped trash by community members.
“It was painful for the community to see this,” Modikwe added.
According to the leaders, the second issue their community is dealing with is over 100 Pikitup workers who have not been paid.
Modikwe said, “These workers clean all the way from Malibongwe Drive to Dainfern, and they managed to stop illegal dumping and everything. They earn R100 per day, but for two months they have never gotten their pay.”
Linda Blackbeard, Randburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) CEO, expressed her frustration at the protesters who were hell bent on littering the streets.
“We are greatly disturbed at the behavior this morning in kya sands by unruly people who created havoc, a mess and an unhealthy environment for members of the public to walk and try and drive through, she said. “Randburg Chambers has been in touch with the office of the MMC of Health and they have speedily issued instructions to clear up the area.”
Douglasdale Police Station spokesperson Captain Mpho Tshetlhane confirmed that no injuries were reported from the police intervention.
The Randburg Sun spoke to Pikitup spokesperson Muzi Mkhwanazi who said that he was not aware of the situation but would investigate further.
ALSO READ: Four killed in Malibongwe truck collision
