Africa-Press – South-Africa. Atlantis residents have given the City of Cape Town an ultimatum to clean up their foul-smelling area or else they will take to the streets over the lack of service delivery.
Rubbish and waste have been piling up in the Witsand area for more than a month, with no waste collection happening.
Angry locals say the scattered waste has attracted “big ugly rats” and that they have had enough.
Community leader Moses Matiso, who is also the deputy chair of the South African National Civics Organisation, said they had been battling to get the City to intervene in the “mess they have caused”.
“The City cancelled two of its waste collector’s contracts. Those contractors were deployed weekly to collect the dirt in the area,” he said.
City spokesperson Luthando Tyhalibongo said they were looking into the matter.
“The City has an open-door policy and members of the community are always encouraged to approach the City in good faith, in a peaceful and constructive manner. We take grievances seriously and will consider all matters raised,” said Tyhalibongo.
Tyhalibongo would not be drawn to answer more detailed questions on Matiso’s allegations.
Matiso said:
He said numerous emails to the City asking for intervention had remained unanswered.
“We are suffering here. The community has already experienced so many daily criminal activities that we are trying to get rid of, but it seems the problems are just increasing.”
Stray dogs were ripping the bags open, leaving them exposed to the public, he added.
“It’s disgusting what is happening here. It’s like the City doesn’t care about the hygiene in the area.”
He said the community was giving the City at least three weeks to clean the area before they resorted to protests.
“We cannot live like this. We will give the City some time to get their act together and sort out this stinky problem. If they don’t, then we will make our voices heard in the streets,” said Matiso.
‘We have children that play in the street’
Residents who spoke to News24 said they had been trying in vain to get the City to take their concerns seriously, but had been left “angered” at the lack of response to their concerns about the polluted area.
Nosindiswa Mthethwa, 37, fears for her family’s health.
“When our children come home from school, there are no adults at home to supervise them because we have to work. So naturally, these children play in the dirt and pick up things they find is curious to them.”
“Sometimes, without thinking, they touch their faces with those dirty hands, which is very concerning. We don’t have money to be taking our children to hospitals because of dirt that shouldn’t even be lying in the street,” Mthethwa said.
Another resident, 26-year-old Mnanli Yoki, said they had attempted to start cleaning up the area by themselves.
“I can’t understand why the City would do such a thing and leave our street in such a state. It’s not right. We have children that play in the street,” Yoki said.
Yoliswa Mthini, 48, said she was worried about the “filth and smells” getting into her home.
“When the wind picks up in the area, it blows all that disgusting filth and smells toward our homes. It’s not nice to smell that strong smell when eating food. We want to live in a clean, unpolluted area,” she said.
For More News And Analysis About South-Africa Follow Africa-Press
