Illegal dumping and garbage left on the roads for weeks continue to be ongoing issues in many Durban suburbs, including Glenwood and Umbilo. EThekwini Municipality sent out a team, the Rapid Response Team to clean up some parts of Umbilo, starting in Dalton on Wednesday, 1 September, issuing fines to businesses in the area who are non-compliant and those contravening municipal bylaws.
According to the municipality, the Rapid Response Team is responsible for ensuring service delivery, fixing water pipes, conducting road maintenance, clearing up rubble and removing all illegal dumping, working together with law enforcement operations. With all this taking place, residents still feel that some parts of Umbilo and Glenwood have not been touched as litter piles up in many street corners. Zelda Pieters, a resident in the area, said one of the streets with an ongoing issue of illegal dumping is Rey Kiets Place. She said there are garbage bags which have been left on the streets for over three months. “The garbage is now spilling onto the road and it will be so great if it can be sorted out,” added Pieters. Other residents commented on the Ward 33 Councillor Mmabatho Tembe’s personal Facebook page on other streets which are looking like a dump. One of the residents said the community should also play their part in keeping their spaces clean. “The area outside Glenmore School always has litter around, caused by people who are inconsiderate and lazy to use the bin. We should change the name of our suburb into Grungewood, seeing what it has become.” EThekwini Municipality spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela confirmed that the Rapid Task Team fined three households over R1 000 each for utilising municipal services illegally. Commenting on the matter of Rey Kiets Place, Cllr Tembe said the matter has been escalated to the municipality.
She said garbage has been picked up a few times, however, after some time the litter keeps piling up. “There is a huge dumping issue on Rey Kiets Place, which has gone on for a long time. I have escalated it to Durban Solid Waste (DSW) and it has been cleaned once or twice and then huge dump again. Apparently, the cleaning staff from housing which clean Kenneth Gardens are the ones that put it there. I have again reported it to DSW but the big issue there is that there is just continuous dumping. DSW was requested to speak to the housing department and it went away for a short while and now it’s back again and has again been escalated to DSW for cleaning again,” said Cllr Tembe. EThekwini Mayor Councillor Mxolisi Kaunda said the contravention of municipal bylaws is a crime. “The RRT is cleaning up the City in all aspects. Three houses in Umbilo which owe the City huge amounts for municipal services were disconnected for illegal water and electricity connections. A food outlet was closed for grossly unhygienic conditions and contravention of food bylaws. Other businesses were fined up to R3 000 for non-compliance,” said Mayor Kaunda. He urged residents to dispose of waste responsibly and to refrain from dumping litter illegally.
