RESPONSE TO ARTICLE IN VAALWEEKBLAD, 7-10 MARCH 2 014, RESIDENTS CONCERNED ABOUT WASTE DUMPING - Bongani Baloyi: Executive Mayor Midvaal It has come to my attention that certain facts were published in the above story regarding two separate cases in Midvaal without contextualising or explaining the issues adequately to readers. With regard to the issue surrounding waste flowing into the Klip River, at the time when the journalist visited the park and saw the overflow, the pump station situated in the park was experiencing problems. The municipalitys workers were on the scene continuously throughout those days, trying to find the fault and fix it. As a result of the fault and the pump not working correctly, there was an overflow in the pipes which led to the unfortunate spillage into the river. A Midvaal representative informed the neighbouring houses of the incident and asked them to stay clear of the river. On 25 February 2014, Midvaals Senior Engineering Technician visited the site with a representative from the Department of Water Affairs, and honey suckers were installed to keep the level of the pump sump down, which stopped all overflow into the river whilst Midvaal concentrated on fixing the problem. Repairs were completed on 27 February 2014, the area was rehabilitated, and the Department of Water Affairs and Midvaals technicians were satisfied that there would be no further spillage into the river. The second issue raised was that of trucks dumping waste into an illegal furrow. The furrow is not illegal, but rather, it is a temporary dumping site. The land which Midvaal previously used as a dumping site was bought out by a private company, and Midvaal is in the process of tendering out for a new dump site to be built. The new site is expected to be ready by June 2014. Whilst work occurs on the new site, Verwoerd Road was earmarked as a temporary dumping site because it is the point at which the pipe is largest, which allows easier dumping for trucks. Waste is being dumped into a pipe, which runs to a treatment plant, and not into the Klip River as suggested by the article. I feel it necessary to mention that all of the above information was conveyed to the journalist working on the story, but unfortunately, he chose to publish selective remarks which do not actually allow the Municipality fair comment on the issue at all. I therefore request that this letter be published to allow readers to see the other side of the story. Yours Sincerely, Bongani Baloyi Executive Mayor
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 08:47:09 +0000
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