Lethal leadership for Standerton
Ongoing pollution by the Lekwa Local Municipality and their inability to solve these matters, are taking its toll on the environment and the residents. Millions were spent to ‘upgrade’ the landfill site, yet it is in utter shambles. Access to the dysfunctional ‘rubbish heap’ is limited to none due to the high volumes of rubbish blocking the access to the dumping site. People who want to discard their rubbish do so next to the road on the way to the site.
Even the municipal garbage removal truck was caught dumping rubbish next to the road on the way to the main site. They are not to blame because the poor planning and ‘upgrading’ of the site led to the chaos.
The site is trampled by garbage collectors who try to collect some items to sell or for personal use. These dwellers create an uncomfortable environment for people who want to dispose their garbage because they feel unsafe with the amount of people present.
Smouldering fires is of great concern and Councillor Johannes van der Wath says that he is inundated with calls of people who complain about the smoke which emanates from the site. Residents of Cosmos Park, Flora Park, nearby farms and even the Jeugkrag Primary School and George Hofmeyr School have lodged complaints which fell on deaf ears. According to Van Der Wath the upgrading of the site should have been completed in 2013. Payments were made to the following contractors: Geomab R2,1 million, Little River Trading R225 000 and Nqondonqond Workman R4,2 million. Their names appear on the billboard in front of the landfill site indicating that they are the contractors responsible for the messy ‘upgrades.’ Payments of R2,2 million also had to be made to Domino Blasting for the explosives used to remove a plate of hard rock underneath the surface where the new landfill site should have been. What is mind boggeling is the fact that two consultants were paid to oversee the upgrades to the landfill site. Khandisa Consultants were paid R747 000 and Worley Parsons were paid R438 000. Neither of the two stated that there were any irregularities in the completion of the upgrading. Neither of these two consultants could also spot a plate of hardened rock which eventually led to extra costs. This also raises some doubt whether these consultants are competent and whether they were only used as a smoke screen. Residents living in the vicinity had to go and sleep over at friends in other parts of town to escape the fumes coming from the landfill site.
Another pain in the stomach is the non-stop of effluent entering the Vaal River. Residents at Johann Street cannot exit their homes because of the smell of sewage that bursts into the Vaal River. The same with residents at Rooikoppen where a continuous stream of effluent finds its way to the Vaal River. The Municipal Manager was given a written letter informing him of the problem, but it seems that he did the honourable Lekwa protocol and ignore it.
It seems that some of the used toilet paper entering the Vaal might come from his office because they simply wipe away reports of extreme pollution. Members of AfriForum again took water samples in the Vaal River and as soon as the results are known drastic steps will be taken.
