Eldorado Park residents in a scrap with city
INFURIATED Eldorado Park residents say they are being sidelined by Pikitup, which is preventing them from establishing a proper separation-at-source and buyback centre in the area.
They say that despite the project being launched by city mayor Parks Tau in 2010/11 and Eldorado Park being identified as a place to start such a project because of drug abuse and the high unemployment rate, nothing has been done.
The community has tried to get the project going to create a clean environment and much-needed jobs.
Resident Dean Evans heads an independent and informal co-operative project at Pikitup garden sites that is responsible for the removal of all recyclables from the general waste stream.
“We assist Pikitup alleviating the impact of waste on the environment,” Evans said. “We lighten the burden of overflowing landfills and we create employment – both formal and informal – all of which is in line with the City of Joburg’s integrated waste management programme set forward in 2011,” he said.
The agreement with the city was that the separation at source would, at a later stage, evolve into a full-scale buyback centre, providing an income for many people and most importantly, include “street pickers”, something also prioritised by the city.
Evans said: “We have, on several occasions, engaged all stakeholders involved such as the councillors, non-governmental bodies and school principals and have buy-in from them all.
“However, we have had to go back and postpone with them on several occasions due to non-response and compliance by Pikitup.”
He said all the support the city promised had been nonexistent, “which is baffling as this is the executive mayor’s pet project”.
It was envisaged that the project would create a domino effect in the community, he said.
“It would not only improve the area by uplifting it, but would re-instill a work ethic among the youth and make them aware that hard work does ultimately pay off.
“The city and its utilities obviously do not share these views. As a result, our issues are seconded to photo opportunities for election purposes and are forgotten as soon as the next press release.”
Evans said that last year Eldorado Park was thrust into the limelight for adverse reasons, when the mother of a drug user managed to get the president to come out and give the community an audience.
For weeks after the visit, things were better because there were police raids and patrols.
Evans said that since then the environment, just like the project, had denigrated and most families were being affected in some way or another. Every person you speak to in the community has a horror story to relay.
Pikitup said the land identified for the project, in Ali Road, was a wetland and therefore could no longer be considered suitable.
“Consultations were undertaken with Region G officials, councillors and the Gauteng province about these developments, but regrettably the site earmarked turned out to be a wetland area,” said spokesman Jacky Mashapu.
As a result, the city’s environmental department declined the application on the grounds that such a facility would pose an environmental risk to a protected area.
Alternative sites, said Mashapu, were identified in Eldorado Park extensions 4, 5 and 7. Approval is being sought from Joburg Property Company and the Gauteng government to use the sites because some of the land does not belong to the municipality.
“This message was relayed to all currently involved and prospective co-operatives. It was also explained to the complainant, Dean Evans, that due to the city’s call for accelerated partnerships with communities, Jozi@Work, existing programmes will have to be adapted to the new model.”
Mashapu said that through the programme, the management of facilities such as buy-back centres and garden sites would be made available as part of the work packages in the waste management stream.
“Once all the selection criteria have been completed, the current, or new co-operatives, including the one represented by Evans, will be at liberty to apply for the Jozi@Work work packages,” he said.