Pretoria - Illegal dumpers and residents have been warned that the City of Tshwane is pushing to enforce by-laws that would ensure heavy fines are imposed on transgressors.
This stance was expressed this week by MMC for Corporate and Shared Services Kingsley Wakelin almost a week after the metro had disclosed that it spent a whopping R143.6 million in the last financial year for clearing illegal dumping sites.
Wakelin stated the concern after he recently conducted an oversight visit in Garsfontein, where he was accompanied by the ward councillor Betsie Basson to assess the challenges posed by informal traders and waste pickers operating illegally in the area.
It was discovered that waste pickers plying their trade at the corner of January Masilela and Solomon Mahlangu Drive were doing so illegally.
Recycling activities in the area were largely driven by waste pickers collecting plastic and other refuse to dump for a fee, according to Wakelin.
“These operations are illegal and, as a result, the environment and residents are negatively affected by the waste scattered around.
“In addressing this challenge, we have requested our Tshwane Metro Police Department and the Environment and Agriculture Management Department to implement and enforce the transgression notice that has already been issued, and to ensure that illegal recyclers do not operate in the area,” he said.
In the same breath, he issued a warning to residents to desist from illegal dumping, “as we are now pushing to enforce by-laws and ensure that we issue heavy fines to transgressors”.
Wakelin identified another challenge as being informal traders who have been squatting and operating in the area without obtaining the correct approval from the City.
“To resolve this, I have taken it upon myself to engage my colleague, the MMC for Economic Development and Spatial Planning, councillor André le Roux, to assist the traders in obtaining the correct approval for trading and to identify demarcated areas to operate in where they do not need to guard their stock overnight,” he said.
MMC for Environment and Agriculture Management, Katlego Mathebe, expressed worry that every year the City clears thousands of tons of waste from illegal dumping hotspots.
“It (the City) spends millions on resource mobilisation to clear illegal dumping spots while the money could be better used for service delivery,” Mathebe said.
Pretoria News