Waste-to-energy plan thrown in bin

THE billion-rand Wellington waste-to-energy project of the Drakenstein Municipality has been terminated a few months after it was flagged by the National Treasury as flawed.

Local residents and businesses campaigned against the project, which included the construction of a waste incinerator to burn waste and convert it to energy.

The land on which the incinerator would have been built was also contested as it was claimed by the community of Sakkieskamp who were forcefully removed from the area in the 1970s, but the municipality said the land was not suitable for restitution.

After its council meeting on Thursday, the municipality announced it had terminated the project.

Executive mayor Conrad Poole said the decision “follows a decade of research, analysis and evaluation of waste- toenergy solution proposals, complaints and resistance by certain interest groups, especially against the proposed inclusion of an incinerator component, as well as legal processes”.

“We believe the decision to terminate the project addresses the public concerns that have repeatedly been raised against the project,” Poole said.

“It also liberates us from a project that was started by a previous administration in 2008. It further gives Drakenstein Municipality the opportunity to take a fresh approach and start a new process, ensuring the best, innovative and environmentally safe waste management solution for our community,” he said.

Weekend Argus previously reported that the project did not follow tender processes and an application to the National Treasury for this to be condoned was declined last year.

In its own admission, the municipality said it did not comply with the Municipal Finance Management Act, the Municipal Public-Private Partnership and the Supply Chain Management Regulations when it sought condonation from the minister. Then finance minister Malusi Gigaba told the municipality in a letter in December that the fairness of the tender process was compromised and procurement regulations were breached. He called for the tender process to be restarted.

The Wellington Associ- ation Against the Incinerator ( WAAI), which campaigned against the project, made submissions to the municipality, reported the matter to the Competition Commission and called for a legal review in an attempt to halt it, citing its impact on the environment, local waste businesses and on residents.

“( It is) a real David vs Goliath story,” said WAAI spokesman Keith Roman. “The WAAI members are proud to announce that all their hard work… came to fruition today.”

noloyiso.mtembu@inl.co.za

PICTURE: THOKOZANI MBUNDA New Hawks head Lieutenant-General Godfrey Lebeya, left, General Bonang Ngwenya and Police Minister Bheki Cele at a media briefing to introduce Lebeya to the country.

PICTURE: AYANDA NDAMANE/AFRICAN NESW AGENCY (ANA) The waste-to-energy project of the Drakenstein Municipality has been called off following resistance from local businesses and residents. A new project is set to be conceptualised to deal with waste management in the area. The Wellington landfill site...