GMM area faces severe health crisis due to illegal dumping
The owner of the land on which the municipal dump site is situated, Mr André du Preez, decided to protect his property by blocking off the access road to the dump that runs across his farm.
SECUNDA – The town is facing a severe health crisis with rubbish piling up and many residents taking to dumping their refuse illegally next to the road that leads to the municipal dumpsite.
The owner of the land on which the municipal dump site is situated, Mr André du Preez, decided to protect his property by blocking off the access road to the dump that runs across his farm.
The municipal dump is also situated on his land and is operated by a third party, Interwaste, that has been contracted by the municipality to manage the municipal dump.
According to Mr Du Preez, he received a call from Interwaste on 23 February, in which they said they were going to suspend operations at the dumpsite, because Govan Mbeki Municipality had apparently not paid them for three months.
He explained that if Interwaste does not continually clear the roads inside the dump and compact the dumped rubbish, the dump would become inaccessible within a day, and according to Mr Du Preez, when this happened in the past, private refuse removal services, garden services and residents simply dumped their rubbish illegally on his land.
Illegal dumping caused a lot of damage to his property about three years ago and he hoped to avoid a similar situation this time around.
After the road closure on Friday morning, representatives from the municipality met with Mr Du Preez and the local DA ward councillor.
It seemed as if the situation was resolved.
Municipal representatives promised the land owner that the matter of payment would be resolved and also agreed to certain other terms.
Based on these negotiations, the land owner agreed to allow certain vehicles through.
Late on Friday afternoon however, it became apparent that the municipality had not honored the agreement and the land owner once again felt he had no choice but to close the road to protect his property from illegal dumping.
The road was closed on Saturday as well, barring promises of further negotiations, but no progress was made.
Negotiations reached a stalemate on Monday morning, 27 February with the land owner refusing to reopen the road.
Operations at the dump was still suspended and frustrated local residents and business owners convened at the municipal offices with trucks laden with rubbish and demanded the municipality gives them an alternative dumping solution.
Further negotiations were held between the municipality, Mr Du Preez and local ward councillors, but on 28 February, no agreement had been reached yet and the dumpsite remained closed.
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