Cleaning illegal dump sites starts tomorrow
ETHEKWINI mayor Zandile Gumede has promised Durban residents and tourists will have Christmas and holidays free of foul-smelling illegal dump sites.
The people’s mayor, as she proclaims, said that tomorrow, the four companies hired by the city would start cleaning such sites which are springing up in different areas.
“We have made progress in service delivery areas such as clean city and waste collection. We have major greening projects where we converted illegal dump sites into 100 parks in the whole of Durban including places like Hambanathi, KwaMashu, uMlazi, Makhutha, Magabheni.
“We have hired companies that will employ people in the community to help waste municipal workers to clean and get rid of all illegal dump sites. They will start working on Monday,” said Gumede.
She was speaking at the launch of the municipality festive season programme.
Gumede said people who paid rates deserved to live in a hygienic environment.
“We don’t want people to smell dirt and live in places with stinking dumping sites.
“We were in uMlazi yesterday with all heads of departments, I took them to the dump sites and asked them how they expected people who paid rates to live in a place with filth.
“Working with the communities, we can make lives better. We will not have any illegal dump sites in Durban by Christmas,” said Gumede.
Durban Solid Waste had 85 additional staff litter collectors and placed additional rubbish bins in key areas with high volumes of visitors.
Last week the DA issued a statement that during a walkabout, party members discovered Durban’s beachfront was in a dilapidated state.
A lack of maintenance had led to public pools standing empty for months – Rachel Finlayson pool was under construction and no one would be able to swim in it this season.
At the launch, Gumede said the beachfront would be able to accommodate people during the holidays.
She said the pools were being cleaned for the festive season and an additional R2.1 million had been set aside for the construction of the Rachel Finlayson pool.
The pool will be used during the Commonwealth Games, due to be hosted by the city in 2022.
“Everything is ready for this festive season. People do not only have to swim in swimming pools. We also have the sea which they can use. Durban is ready for the holidays,” said Gumede.