Fires return to The Reeds illegal dump site

Residents of The Reeds are once again battling fires at an illegal dumpsite near Panorama Road, which emergency services had to put out over the weekend.

Earlier this year, the residents had a similar experience, as a fire at the illegal dump proved difficult to extinguish for weeks.

Tshwane emergency services spokesperson Lindsay Mnguni said that the fires were first reported in the early hours of Saturday morning.

“The emergency services department fire and rescue operations were there and they managed to extinguish the fire,” he said.

The fire was extinguished by 13:00 on Monday, but by Tuesday morning, residents reported that the dump was still smouldering, casting a pall of smoke over the neighbourhood.

In March, firefighters had to use a backhoe tractor to dig into the dump to extinguish the smouldering core that caused the flare-ups.

Residents say that the recent fires include the burning of plastics and other materials that are a health hazard.

The illegal dumpsite near Panorama Road in Centurion is located on several privately owned properties that are part of the old Brakfontein farm, and include an informal settlement known as Vuilduis or Masango settlement.

A community leader confirmed to Rekord that no one was injured in the fire but that the residents of Vuilduis were also concerned for their health and safety.

The residents said that foreign nationals were using the land around the illegal dump to sort waste, and their community suffered the consequences.

Waste buyer Khanyisile Thonga from The Recycling Bank, who buys sorted waste for recycling from the waste pickers, said that the residents were served eviction papers on Monday morning.

Rekord has seen the court document that gives the residents 14 days to vacate the premises, following letters of demand from attorneys representing the landowners that were distributed in June.

While the ward councillor did not respond to enquiries, PR councillor Adriana Randall told Rekord that the matter was being addressed, but would be a slow process as the site is on privately-owned land.

She said that they were working with the property owners to address the issue.

Randall, who formerly worked in the provincial legislature, was appointed to the area earlier this year.

She has since assisted in opening cases with the provincial Green Scorpions, who issued a pre-directive to the property owners to clean up the land.

Evidence at the site suggests illegal sand mining, while the dump poses environmental risks for the river that runs through the area and surrounding wetlands.

She said that residents of Ward 64 had petitioned the city to do something and the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements because a parcel of the affected land belongs to it.

“We are still waiting for answers, seeing as the election and appointments of MECs have caused some delays.

“I am expecting answers this week,” she said.

Randall also said that Home Affairs would be included because illegal Lesotho immigrants were increasingly moving into the area.

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