Plague of flies

JON HOUZET

SWARMS of flies from the Bushman's/Marselle dump site have been making life miserable for residents and restaurant owners along the Bushman's River.

One restaurant has stopped opening for lunch since the flies became such a pest that patrons walked out.

Kenton-on-Sea resident David Burr alerted TotT to the problem after noticing more flies than usual invading his home over the past few months.

He said other residents had similar experiences and he traced the source of the problem to the dump site.

After visiting the site last week he said it had become "a massive breeding ground for these pests”.

"The prolific breeding habits of flies is a frightening thought with the inevitable spread of disease. The flies are borne by the wind into the community from the dump site,” Burr said.

Rodney Long, the owner of Stanley's restaurant in Kenton, said he had first noticed the problem about three weeks ago when they were "inundated” with bluebottle flies.

"They came with the big winds,” he said. "It was worse than an infestation for about ten days. It was horrible.”

He said it had affected business as the flies bothered patrons when they were eating.

To combat the problem he had placed bowls of vinegar on the tables, which had helped somewhat to keep the flies away, and sprayed poison outside the establishment.

"It's been the whole season,” said Thane Theophilus, the owner of Woodlands bistro.

He attributed the infestation to a combination of "perfect conditions” – the hot, humid season and the accumulation of garbage which was not collected regularly and then piled up at the dump site.

"It's embarrassing. It has affected business,” he said. "We're not opening at lunch time anymore because of the flies.”

He said a large group of patrons had left last week after ordering prawns and then being swarmed by flies.

Simon Oliver, chairman of the Kenton-on-Sea Ratepayers Association (Kosra), said he had noticed more bluebottle flies than usual and "people assume they're coming from the dump”.

He said Kosra was engaging on the municipality on several service delivery issues, including sewerage and the dump site, and had raised the related problem of the flies.

Last week Burr said he spoke to the municipal employee in charge of the dump who told him that the only way the flies had been kept in check in the past was by burning rubbish.

On Tuesday night, there was another fire which burned the whole night.

"It was still burning at 8am [on Wednesday],” Burr told TotT. "It was the length and breadth of the dump site. I couldn't have set the fire better myself if I wanted to kill the flies.”

Last year Burr was able to get the Green Scorpions to check on the Bushman's/Marselle dump site after he complained about the toxic smoke which wafted across the Bushman's River from the frequent fires at the dump.

The Green Scorpions issued a pre-compliance notice to Ndlambe municipality after finding a number of irregularities at the dump site, including the illegal burning of rubbish.

"This dump site is a disgusting disgrace and no attempt whatsoever has been made by the municipal manager or his staff to adhere to the items listed in the pre-compliance order issued by the department of economic development, environmental affairs and tourism (Dedeat),” said Burr.

"Item 4.7 of this order specifically requires that waste on-site must be covered daily with a 150mm layer of soil. If the municipality had obeyed that order we would not have this infestation of flies to contend with.”

Municipal spokesman Cecil Mbolekwa has not responded to TotT's queries.