Millions spent on cleaning up illegal dumping

Millions spent on cleaning up illegal dumping

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There are many excuses and blaming that goes around about who is responsible for keeping the area clean. “The City’s cleaning services are ongoing. We however encourage communities to take responsibility for preventing littering and dumping in their areas,” says Alderman Grant Twigg, the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Waste Management. “Illegal dumping is one of the City’s biggest chronic challenges, with approximately R130 million spent in efforts to clear it each year.

According to a media statement released in October 2021, they`ve allocated over R100 million extra to fund the second phase of the Rapid Response Programme, and received an additional R100 million from National Government`s Public Employment Programme, bringing the total spend on dealing with illegal dumping to over R300million.” This will run for the remainder of the 2021/22 financial year, will employ an additional 2048 workers and extra vehicles for clearing illegal dumping. Cape Town Mayor, Geordin Hill-Lewis started a City-wide clean-up campaign which kicked off in Mitchell’s Plain earlier this month.

In an effort to eradicate illegal dumping and littering, the CoCT will implement heavier fines and penalties. According to Twigg, the clean-up project includes Atlantis, but a time-frame for this project cannot be given as the ‘cleansing services are running city-wide on an ongoing basis’. He added that they cannot give an exact amount that will be spent on Atlantis, as because ‘budgets for City cleansing are not easily broken down by area or suburb’. He added that the City’s Urban Waste Management Directorate’s Cleansing Services employs local residents where services are provided via the EPW Programme. “Residents of Atlantis who want to be considered for employment should please ensure they are registered on the City’s Jobseeker’s Database through their sub-councils,” said Twigg. In the meanwhile, the City has appointed a private contractor, Siqualo, and all the workers reside in and around Atlantis, Mamre, Pella and Witsand.

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