Mountainous heaps of rubbish lined the streets of Westonaria recently and residents and business owners have had enough.
The Herald received various complaints of the litter in Westonaria piling up in the CBD.
The Herald subsequently went to investigate the complaint and found Edwards Avenue in Westonaria CBD to be riddled with papers, cardboard boxes and other waste.
The Herald spoke to shop owners and employees who work on the street and they had a mouthful to say about the rubbish piling up on the street.
The first employee the Herald spoke to said the rubbish in front of the shop is bad for business and that people associate the business with not being clean.
She also said street vendors who sell food are the hardest hit by the rubbish because nobody would want to buy food from a vendor stationed next to a heap of smelly filth.
Two shops down, an elderly business owner who said she has been at the shop for 30 years said he keeps a broom at her front desk because she has to sweep her pavement multiple times in a day.
People on the street also complained about having to walk in filth every time they have to do their shopping.
Elize Lange, a resident of Westonaria sent Herald journalist Maritza van Zyl photos of rubbish piling up in the CBD and said, “I walk in the CBD almost everyday.
Edwards Avenue is bad but the street just behind it is just as bad. I also heard from business owners about a strike but I don’t really know what’s going on there – it’s just what I heard.”
Lange said the rubbish laying around looks bad and is unhygienic for the town. She finds it absolutely unacceptable that the town has become to filthy.
All the people the Herald spoke to indicated that municipal workers who are in charge of clean-up are currently on strike and have been for the past two weeks.
The strike, however, was not confirmed by the Westonaria Local Municipality. Comment is still awaited from the municipality on the matter.
The shop owners and employees names were left out because none of them were able to speak about the issue in their capacity as employees and shop owners feared bringing their companies names into the equation as they have a brand to consider.
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