The acrid taste of soot on the tongue. The constant, grey film that settles on laundry, window sills and the flowers in the little shop on the corner. For years, residents of Overport say this has become their everyday reality, a slow, choking intrusion from a nearby factory that burns coal and sends plumes of smoke straight into homes, shops and workplaces.
On Friday, 24 April the crisis boiled over at 100 Brickfield Road, where Ward 31 councillor Ramona McKenzie met with fed-up community members demanding urgent action from the eThekwini Municipality. What was supposed to be a local environmental complaint has morphed into a public-health emergency, for those who live and work around the factor.
“This is not just dirty windows and black clothes.This is people struggling to breathe, children coughing through the night, elderly neighbours’ conditions worsening. It’s our livelihoods, our health and our dignity being smothered,” said Courtney Rampual, one of the neighbouring residents.
What residents describe is not merely nuisance pollution but a chronic exposure to particulate matter and chemical residues that coat the neighbourhood daily. The soot is fine, pervasive and persistent, and enters homes when doors must be opened; it clings to curtains and bedding, and settles into carpets and soft furnishings.
Families resort to keeping windows and doors shut for long stretches, sacrificing ventilation and sunlight to keep out the smog. Washing cannot be hung outside; it returns grey. Pets leave the house clean and return with paws and fur dusted in grime. Plants appear to die slowly, their leaves speckled and weakened by the constant fallout.
Health impacts include mounting evidence from clinics and doctors’ notes,
Beyond the clean-up and inconvenience lies a growing catalogue of health complaints that residents and local workers insist are linked to the factory’s emissions. Parents speak of toddlers with persistent coughs, children suffering more frequent asthma attacks, and teenagers developing sore throats and bronchitis-like symptoms. Doctors who have seen patients from the area have provided sick notes, residents, confirming that the smoke is making people ill. Elderly residents, those with pre-existing respiratory or cardiac conditions, and employees who work long shifts near the factory are particularly vulnerable.
Staff at nearby businesses report similar problems. Shopkeepers who open early and work late describe sore throats, frequent colds, and eyes that sting by midday. Staff at a nearby bakery said their ovens no longer smell of dough alone — the workplace air is tainted, and their employees are missing days of work with respiratory complaints. Office workers in the vicinity say concentration is impaired by headaches and lethargy that coincide with heavy smoke days. For business owners, the soot brings a double blow: the health of employees is at risk and a gritty taste on take-away food, and impacts that threaten trade and livelihoods.
The community’s attempts to get a response has just been promises without enforcement. Residents and councillors said they have followed every formal channel open to them. Emails were sent to municipal environmental health. Meetings were held, more than a year ago, and officials made promises. A compliance notice and even a closure order were discussed, however, to date after municipal inspections were conducted, the factory continues to operate. The area manager, who reportedly was supposed to issue a closure notice to the factory owner, has not yet done so. In the interim, people continue to get sick.
“There were inspections, yes, but action has lagged,” said one community leader. “We’ve been patient. We were told to respect the process. But process without enforcement is just words on paper while we inhale soot,” said Ward 31 Councillor McKenzie.
Workers at the factory and surrounding businesses face a different but connected risk. Factory staff who operate inside the plant or in adjacent yards are exposed day after day.
McKenzie was unambiguous at the gathering saying that the community’s right to a safe environment cannot be ignored. McKenzie said the purpose of the visit was to give residents a direct platform to tell what they live with each day. She signalled that pressure on the municipality would be intensified, that the slow wheels of process must not become an excuse for inaction, and that enforcement, and not more meetings.
Residents want concrete steps: the immediate issuance of the promised compliance or closure notice where warranted; regular, transparent air-quality monitoring made public; medical screening for vulnerable groups; and support for affected workers and businesses. They also seek clear timelines and accountability from municipal authorities.
As the standoff continues, residents remains trapped between assurances from officials and the daily reality of pollution. For a community that says it has documented the harm — with inspections done, with doctors’ notes in hand, and with mounting anecdotal evidence, the lack of decisive municipal action feels like abandonment.
Residents hope this renewed public showing will force the decisive action that has been delayed for too long: firm enforcement of environmental standards, immediate protection for those most at risk, and a meaningful plan to prevent future harm.
Attempts to contact the owner of the factory for comment were unsuccessful at the time of going print
