Landfill site audit: Landfills in SA just more proof of municipalities’ incompetence

AfriForum today released the organisation’s annual landfill audit report after landfill sites in towns and cities, where AfriForum’s branches are located, were audited earlier this year. This report will be discussed with Barbara Creecy, Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and Environmental Affairs, to request a formal investigation into the municipalities concerned. Only 17,5% (28 of 161) of these sites meet the minimum requirements of the National Environmental Management: Waste Act (No. 59 of 2008).

By law, a landfill site must meet certain requirements. A list of 33 questions was compiled with these minimum standards as a guideline and these questions were used to conduct the landfill audit.

“The poor percentage can be attributed to various problems experienced by municipalities that lead to the poor and illegal management of our landfill sites. Misappropriation of funds, poor maintenance and a lack of competent personnel are just some of the problems we face daily. The biggest problem is that there are municipal officials who do not have the will and/or the knowledge to manage the sites,” says Lambert de Klerk, Manager of Environmental Affairs at AfriForum.

“The obstacles are endless. Municipal officials are not concerned about the condition of their landfill sites and overall municipal service delivery because they are not held accountable for their negligence. It is alarming to know that most landfill sites in South Africa do not even meet the minimum requirements. This is just more proof of how big the problem is with municipal service delivery at grassroots level.”

“It seems as if the national government has the will to see an improvement at local level, but the provincial and local governments do not share this sentiment and/or do not have the power to do so,” adds De Klerk.

The simple explanation for this situation is the fact that the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environmental Affairs is governed by three different spheres of government. The national department only has power to establish laws, policies and norms and standards at national level. This department therefore has no competence at provincial or municipal level. The provincial department reports to the provincial MEC and not to the minister.

Municipalities report to the mayor as political head and not to the provincial or national authorities. Each sphere of government has its own political agenda and the officials have to keep the political leaders happy at the level where they work. This causes friction and contradictions and is partly an explanation for the current issues South Africans are grappling with. Moreover, the Constitution requires cooperative government. National departments are therefore reluctant to act against provinces and municipalities. Rather, they take on a “big brother” role and try to help their provincial and municipal counterparts through mentorship and advice.

As in the past, AfriForum is also aware of several landfill sites that have closed down this year and at the same time it has also been observed that some operational sites should have already closed according to their licenses. This is of concern because it means that there are no more landfill sites in certain towns or cities, which is likely to lead to illegal dumping.

According to De Klerk, AfriForum is also aware of the latest issue that is now beginning to emerge at grassroots level and that is that many sites that still have sufficient airspace are receiving notices to close. It is then intended to open joint district landfill sites for between three and four towns. However, this will only shift the problems that are currently being experienced.

One success story is that of the J.B. Marks Local Municipality in Potchefstroom which made a real turnaround and appointed a competent private company to help at the landfill site. This can be clearly seen in the last four years’ audit results (16% in 2020, 46% in 2021, 82% in 2022 and 98% in 2023).

De Klerk is of the opinion that municipalities must start looking for solutions to get South Africa’s waste management to an acceptable standard. “AfriForum would like to help with the implementation of solutions and we encourage municipalities to get in touch with us. It is the responsibility of all of us to ensure that our environment is not polluted and therefore we also want to contribute to a cleaner South Africa.”