Please find attached soundbite in Afrikaans by Arista Goosen.
Please find attached soundbite in English by Arista Goosen.
- Illegal dumping and a dysfunctional landfill site continue to pose serious health and environmental risks across Mahikeng.
- Auditor-General findings confirm years of failures in the municipality’s waste management and landfill operations.
- The DA will table practical proposals to restore lawful, effective, and accountable waste management.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) will formally write to the Municipal Manager of Mahikeng Local Municipality, Adv Dineo Mongwaketsi, calling for the implementation of a practical waste management strategy to address the municipality’s escalating waste crisis and restore clean, safe, and dignified living conditions for residents.
During a recent oversight inspection, the DA identified several illegal dumping hotspots, including a large dumpsite engulfed in flames near the Apiesdoring Flats in Golf View (see pictures here and here). Additional illegal dumping sites were observed behind Bophelong Hospital (see picture here), at Lanric Plots (see picture here), and near Foodzone (see picture here and here).
These sites present serious public health, environmental, and safety risks. Illegal dumping attracts vermin, pollutes surrounding communities, creates fire hazards, and undermines residents’ constitutional right to live in an environment that is not harmful to their health and wellbeing.
The DA’s proposed intervention includes the rehabilitation and proper management of the municipal landfill site, the clean-up of illegal dumping hotspots, the installation of clear signage to discourage illegal dumping, and stronger enforcement of municipal by-laws to ensure that offenders are held accountable.
The municipality’s failure to manage waste is neither new nor disputed. Previous Auditor-General findings identified serious shortcomings, including the operation of the landfill site without the required environmental authorisations, poor maintenance of critical infrastructure, failures to comply with waste management legislation, irregular expenditure, procurement concerns, and evidence of continued illegal dumping.
Despite these findings, residents have seen little meaningful progress.
Earlier this year, Council considered a proposal to outsource the operation of the landfill site at significant cost. The proposal failed to secure approval after serious concerns were raised regarding procurement processes, transparency, and value for money. Months later, the municipality has still failed to present a credible alternative plan to address the growing waste management crisis.
The DA has also engaged the South African Human Rights Commission regarding the municipality’s continued failure to comply with minimum standards for landfill management and its failure to protect residents’ constitutional rights.
The DA believes that clean communities require capable municipalities. Waste management is not an optional service but a core municipal responsibility that directly affects public health, environmental protection, and the dignity of every resident.
The DA will continue to hold the municipality accountable until meaningful action is taken and will continue fighting for cleaner communities, responsible governance, and service delivery that works for the people of Mahikeng.