Durban — Business owners and their staff operating in Jacobs, south of Durban, are planning to physically shut down a manganese company’s depot because the eThekwini Municipality was failing to act against the company for tipping poisonous manganese on the road.
Businesses operating at Laguna Crescent off Teakwood Road have been at loggerheads with trucking company Ni-Da Transport for what they said was deliberately tipping of manganese remains on the road next to their businesses.
Despite numerous calls for action and promises by the eThekwini Municipality business owners told the “Daily News” on Wednesday that the municipality had not done anything.
One of the business owners said that the truck driver tipped the manganese remains next to his business but when he asked him what he was doing the driver said she should not be worried because they were small remains and were not harmful. She said this left her and owners fuming and she decided to organise to shut down the depot themselves since the government was failing to help them.
Another business owner said they were sick and tired of the city’s promises and had decided to organise a protest with the intention to shut down the depot themselves. He said law-abiding citizens and professional businesses had done everything to draw the attention of authorities to the problem but it looked like their pleas had fallen on deaf ears.
“We wonder what we need to do to get assistance. We don’t know what else we need to do to get the attention of the authorities to actually stop this, which is why we feel we must organise a protest to show our frustration,” he said.
In articles about the issue in the “Daily News” last month, the municipality promised to take serious action against the company, including shutting it down, after it failed to comply with regulations.
The city said it was not true that it was not acting, adding that a site inspection was undertaken in July and a notice of contravention to cease the washing of vehicles and the discharge of trade effluent into the stormwater drain was issued.
The municipality said a legal notice had been issued to the company.
It said another re-inspection was conducted which revealed the following:
⦁ Sludge stored on site from clean-up of the premises.
⦁ Tap in the wash bay.
⦁ Dust nuisance persisted and an admission of guilt fine to the value of R5 000 was issued on August 11 for washing trucks in an open area and contaminating the stormwater drain, despite a notice having been issued about this.
The municipality said a second notice of contravention was issued to remove the tap from the wash bay and clean up the spilled chrome dust at the affected areas, with these to be complied with by August 12, 2022.
The municipality had said its Environmental Health Services was drawing up further charges to force the company to cease all operations until such time as they could prove compliance, but business owners said none of the promises were carried out and the company did not cease one day to tip the poisonous substance on the road.
Beside the dust, owners had complained that the manganese was causing various illnesses, including respiratory problems, which they and their staff had experienced. They also said it was causing water pollution and blockages in the stormwater drainage system.
On Thursday morning business owners said they were not able to access their businesses after finding Ni-Da trucks all over the road.
The municipality had not yet responded to the questions sent on Wednesday.
Ni-Da Transport was also sent questions on August 18 and again on Wednesday but it has not responded.
Daily News