Officials ordered to sort out chaos at dump site

TOXINS, leachate and greenhouse gases will be a thing of the past should the Msunduzi municipality, with a history of non-compliance, obey the court order to get the New England Road landfill site in shape.

On Thursday the Pietermaritzburg High Court ruled that the state of the dump was in violation of the Constitution and our environmental rights, therefore, the municipality had 30 days to devise and file a detailed action plan with realistic deadlines.

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), which conducted an investigation, and sought the court’s intervention in the matter, together with affected communities, will be entitled to comment and monitor the implementation of the plan. Msunduzi is also expected to draft monthly progress reports.

Chicco Nkosi, a social activist from Sobantu, one of the most affected areas by the mismanaged dump, expressed relief and said the ruling was a victory for the residents who had suffered for many years. He said the community was hopeful, since the municipality would now be held accountable.

“We are more than delighted with the court verdict, it's a great start, moving forward. We have been suffering and unhappy with the municipality for the longest time because of their mismanagement of the New England landfill site,” said Nkosi.

“There is no waste treatment done, which causes hazardous emissions from rot and fossil fuels that release carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that are very harmful to human health, and that's the environment we are subjected to everyday,” he said.

Delivering his judgment, Judge Rishinand Seegobin said the manner in which Msunduzi had conducted

itself in the operation of the landfill site was “disturbing”.

He said it showed a disregard for the health and well-being of its citizens and the environment, and that this conduct should not be allowed to continue. He said the SAHRC should be commended for highlighting the issues surrounding the landfill site.

“Hardworking taxpayers and ratepayers expect nothing more and nothing else from a ‘City of Choice’. The municipality and its largely incompetent, inefficient and inept officials have literally turned this city into one of filth, grime and degradation. This has to stop.

“This municipality, like so many others in the country, has simply lost touch with its citizens.

“The officials who are in charge of the municipality seem to forget that they are there only to serve the interests of everyone who lives and works within the municipality’s jurisdiction,” he said.

Musa Chamane, waste campaign manager at Groundwork, an environmental justice action group, said there had been more than five deaths at the landfill site in the past 10 years due to poor operations.

Chamane said a plan to work with the city devised by the South African

Waste Pickers Association based at the landfill site, never saw the light of day, and the access control which was agreed upon, was never implemented. He said the group had been engaging the municipality for many years on how to properly manage the site, but their efforts fell on deaf ears.

“We warned them that the landfill would be swamped by thousands of unemployed people if they did not take control of the access issue. As a result, some waste pickers and recycling workers have died while others have been left paralysed.

“All this undermines human rights, how can we allow the municipality to

kill people through incompetence? This is a victory for the community of Pietermaritzburg, hopefully the days of the stench and burning landfill have come to an end,” Chamane said.

When the matter sat down for hearing two weeks ago, Advocate Lloyd Lotz, SAHRC provincial manager, had been confident that the commission had put a good case forward. He said Thursday’s ruling was “a vindication of the rights of the people of Pietermaritzburg.”

Msunduzi Municipality did not respond to questions at the time of publishing.