Winde worried about waste
Western Cape Premier Alan Winde and DA Provincial Leader Tertuis Simmers were in Knysna on Saturday 24 February to assess the severity of the town’s infrastructural issues. Their itinerary included the Knysna waste transfer station, Khayalethu water reservoir and Hornlee, where water issues have been ongoing.
At the waste transfer station Winde and other members of the DA were shocked by the conditions. Not only were they confronted by the putrid smell of rotting waste, but they found that a group of squatters reside in the dump site, which poses a huge health risk and human rights violation.
Ongoing waste issues
The waste transfer station has posed a major challenge for many years, and with the accumulation of rubbish, the nature of the problem is expanding. The location in the town's central business district increases the health risks, while the natural ecosystem of the nearby Knysna Estuary is more and more at risk.
Winde's response
"As a provincial government we have a role to play here," said Winde. "We have issued a number of
directives; these directives are very serious components of a legislative process. We've also done a few diagnostics, which come with a help plan when it comes to dealing with delivering water and getting rid of waste, as well as the sewerage problems."
The diagnostics will be proposed in a council meeting on Tuesday 27 February, where it will be determined whether further intervention is needed from Provincial Government.
"This [waste transfer station] is a physical example of what's happening to this town, in its administration," said Simmers. "The people that are suffering are the people
of Knysna. We went to various sites and we can see from an infrastructure lens the moral and physical decay of local governance."
Diagnostics of waste transfer issue
"Diagnostics say what the problems are and how they can be fixed within a certain time frame," Winde said. "If both of those are ignored and processes aren’t followed, then we would have to put the town under administration. This town is the most beautiful town on the continent. This town is worth fighting for and we have to fight for this town."