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KwaZulu-Natal’s landfill sites a major source of concern

AfriForum this year audited 162 landfill sites nationwide as part of this organisation’s national project to measure the quality of landfills in South Africa.

Only one out of nine landfill sites audited in KwaZulu-Natal have met national standards. In terms of applicable legislation and regulations, including the National Environmental Management: Waste Act 59 of 2008, a landfill must meet certain requirements.

According to Eugene van Aswegen, AfriForum’s District Coordinator for KwaZulu-Natal, are almost all the landfill sites in KwaZulu-Natal in a terrible condition. “This can mainly be attributed to politicians who do not consider this aspect of service delivery to be important.”

Van Aswegen says that the most common problems that AfriForum encountered during the audit were the absence of waste management licenses and a total mismanagement of sites.

“We want to congratulate the uMhlathuze Local Municipality for the proper management of the land refill site in Richards Bay. This management sets a example for many municipalities as how proper management should be,” concludes Van Aswegen.

Municipal deterioration is rampant and it is noticeable that especially smaller municipalities are subject to large-scale mismanagement.

In the last two years, AfriForum has met on several occasions with Barbara Creecy, Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and Environmental Affairs, and her team. From the meetings it was clear that there was insufficient communication between national, provincial and local authorities. This is proof that co-operative government and traditional affairs (Cogta) and the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environmental Affairs do not communicate with each other.

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