Local Authorities fail to develop waste management plans
Lack adequate skills
Local Authorities have not been able to develop solid waste management plans 22 years later after the Waste Management Act was enacted. Currently the most commonly accepted methods of waste disposal are land filing and dumpsites. This week answering a question in Parliament, Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Setlhabelo Modukanele told Parliament that Local Authorities have not been able to develop solid waste management plans as per the provisions of this Act due to inadequate skills capacity and financial resources.
Responding to a question by Member of Parliament for Jwaneng – Mabutsane Mephato Reatile, Modukanele said waste has grown in terms of quantity and complexity, due to population growth and economic advancement, and thus requires a fully- fledged department to facilitate and coordinate waste management planning at district level. He said development of waste management plans by Local Authorities is a statutory requirement as stipulated under Section 9 of the Waste Management Act of 1998. Acknowledging the shortcoming, Modukanele said it is true that Waste Management Plan is a tool which could be used to improve solid waste management. He said the Integrated Waste Management Policy which will be presented by the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism for Parliament approval recommends for the provision of an enabling environment for proper Waste Management planning that will support waste recovery and value addition to waste. Further the development of local waste management plans requires extensive stakeholder consultations.
“I cannot commit to any timeline as I still need to engage with the relevant stakeholders for development of the plans”. What also came out of Modukanele’s answer during supplementary time is that there are few trained people who are qualified to assist, and most of them work for the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism.