Yibutse takes action at Mncitsini

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7¶6 been counted among the great urban tragedies of our time.

For over three decades the res idents of 0ncitsini in the east of 0ba bane city have seen their children, and children’s children grow in sTualor, with hundreds of rubbish dump sites, being close companions.

One of the dump sites is perched under a boulder scaling the iconic 0sundu]a +iking Trail, one of the city’s tourist attraction sites, and legend is, it is over 0 years old.

6oiled adult and baby diapers are entangled with single use plastic and food waste, creating a groundswell of poverty, disease and vermin. :ith each day, a dump site seems to mushroom in the rugged terrain of the poverty stricken and strife torn 0ncitsini.

:ith a bout 1 000 residents, 0ncitsini is one of the busiest sections of 0sundu ]a, Eswatini’s oldest township.

/ike trying to empty the sea using a teaspoon, volunteers from

The area, has an evergreen stream that empties itself into the 0babane 5iver in 0vutshini and E]ulwini. For many years it has been known as a hotspot for trash to be strewn around the popular walkways.

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The residents seem to have resigned themselves to these dumpsites being part of their daily lives and the area’s landscape. The stray dogs, rats and other vermin, have become part of the community’s social tapestry.

The residents seem to be no longer bothered by the stench to heavens high, that emanates from these festering and disease causing wasteyards.

The residents are too preoccupied with the struggle for survival and the hustle to wiggle their way out of the clutches of poverty, to care about inconveniences such as disease spreading dumpsites, illegal dumping of litter, or where the soiled diapers of sickly adult relatives or finicky newborns, end up.

The few that are concerned and wish something could be done to clean up the sTualor of the place are soon demoral ised, as the majority do not see wanton littering as a problem that needs to be addressed and stopped.

$nother challenge is that while 0cit sini is within the boundaries of the 0u nicipal Council of 0babane, and waste collection services to the area are part of

Yibutse Green Action volunteers with hundreds of refuse bags filled with the waste they removed from a dumpsite at Mncitsini in Mbabane. The organisation targeted to retrieve 1 000 bags from Friday to Monday. (Inset) Msunduza resident Richard Mntshali came in to lend a hand during the clean-up activity.

the local authority’s mandate, access to the place for the refuse trucks is ne[t to mission impossible. 6o rugged, moun tainous, steep, sloppy, and impassable is the terrain, delivery of services is a nightmare.

:ith rural urban migration on the rise, and the increasing number of immigrants who flock to Eswatini to escape conflicts and economic strife in their countries, the population of 0ncitsini, and surround ing areas, keeps bulging by the year. That adds another strain on service delivery, including waste management, water and sanitation.

Challenges

In the midst of the challenges,

³It’s an elephant task. It will not be easy and it will take decades upon decades to achieve the desired results,´ said Celucolo.

³The saying that a journey of a thou sand kilometres starts with one step, holds true here.

6o it was that the four volunteers of

³/ike eating an elephant, we set our selves the ambitious target of retrieving waste that could fill 1 000 refuse bags. The idea was to salvage 2 0 refuse bags of litter a day from Friday $ugust 12 1 , 2022. It was a tall order but we were determined to succeed,´ said 0lamuli, who is a student at /imkokwing 8ni versity of Technology and Innovation.

:orking with two residents of 0ncit sini, the four

³Today is 6unday and we are back on site. Tough and dangerous as the con ditions are, we will soldier on in trying to reach the target of 1 000 refuse bags by tomorrow. :e have in the bag, and to go,´ 0lamuli said adding that they would fight against all odds to reach, or even surpass the set target.

+e was echoed by 6en]o, who added that while some residents who passed by the site did not believe the effort would make a difference, a few others complement the

³:e want to restore and preserve the stream. :e also want to replace the dumpsite with a community garden. There is a lot of poverty here, and in other townships. 5esidents to pick from the garden what they need to feed their families and leave some for others,´ said 6en]o.

³%ut all these efforts and actions by our team of highly dedicated volunteers and partners will amount to nothing if the community does not cooperate with us by taking ownership of the projects. $ctually,

³The saying that you can take the horse to the well but you cannot force the horse to drink, holds true here. :e need the residents to be more responsible when discarding their rubbish. :e need them to clean up their living spaces and be responsible for their health, safety and well being,´ 6en]o said.

0eanwhile, 1othando 'lamini, the Chairperson of

³:e are also hugely indebted to 0r .eenan 6eafield and 0a]wi 'lamini of $maru +egallu Energy for lending a hand with a stipend for our volunteers and the residents who came to assist, and with some of the logistics. :e value our partnership in the waste management value chain,´ 'lamini said.

Dumpsite

'lamini also lauded the residents who came to help clean up the dumpsite, including youths and children.

6he said this was a good thing because at the end of the day the residents were to assume ownership of the cleanliness and proper waste management of their own area. In another matter, while recognition for

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