The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Carnarvon is growing support for a petition to put pressure on Kareeberg municipality to urgently attend to the town’s neglected landfill site.
The landfill site was last rehabilitated between 10 and fifteen years ago, posing a significant health risk to the environment and the surrounding community.
The landfill is not fenced off and there is no form of access control. This lack of management has resulted in the entire area, from Carnarvon to Vosburg, being transformed into a massive dump site, as refuse is increasingly disposed of anywhere. There are also no educational campaigns being run to promote proper waste disposal, or enforcement actions implemented by the municipality to deter illegal dumping.
The DA does our part by arranging clean-ups of the areas affected by illegal dumping, but this is not a sustainable solution. See pics here and here.
We are also concerned about the way in which recycling is being handled. While the Municipal Manager (MM), Mr Faried Manuel, advertised a two-year contract for the recycling of plastic and cardboard boxes, only ANC-linked cadres are utilized for recycling initiatives. We have also noted with concern, that an ANC councillor is making use of young children from town, to sort recyclables at the site.
I met with the MM of Kareeberg in June, to discuss the landfill site, amongst other issues. See pic here. According to the MM, a business plan must first be developed for the management of the landfill site, before further action can be taken to address the current shortfalls.
While I appreciate the MM’s commitment to address this by August, the DA is not leaving this to chance. Through our community-based petition, we plan to hold Kareeberg municipality accountable for improving waste management practices and remediating the existing landfill site.
Carnarvon rests within an area that is popular for its clean and wide-open spaces. We cannot let a failed landfill strategy ruin the town’s potential for local economic development.