Heaps of trash block the entrance to the rubbish dump in Standerton while the smell of rotting matter permeates the air in the Mpumalanga town. 

The Lekwa municipality has been accused of not maintaining the site and dumping rubbish next to the R546, which is the main route to Secunda.

Following a visit to the site, the DA in Mpumalanga laid criminal charges against Mayor Lindokuhle Dhlamini and municipal manager Gugulethu Mhlongo-Ntshangase. 

READ: Standerton sewage flowing into Vaal

The charges against Dhlamini and Mhlongo-Ntshangase are based on section 49A of the National Environmental Management Act. This act prohibits any person from dumping waste in a public area.

“With the landfill site filled to the brim, the council just started to dump rubbish on an open site next to the Secunda road. What is of even bigger concern is that there is no effort from the council to maintain or rehabilitate the current dump site,” said DA leader in the province Jane Sithole.

Complaints

Sithole said the party has been inundated with complaints from residents who say the dump site is a health risk.

Another complaint from residents is the lack of maintenance of the town’s sewerage system.

Over the years many of the sewerage pipes have either become blocked or have collapsed, resulting in raw sewage running down the streets and flowing into the Vaal River.

Louis van Rensburg, a DA councilor, says the main problem is at the Rooikoppen plant.

The South African Human Rights Commission recently held an official hearing to establish the extent of the problem.

Thobeka Mtshiselwa, spokesperson for Lekwa municipality, said garbage was piling up at the dumping site because the machine used to clean the site had broken down.

“The council has now also decided to hire a machine to clean up the mess next to the Secunda road.”

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