Outcry over rat-infested filth

North End residents are at their wits’ end with the surge of illegal dumping by residents and businesses which has turned streets of the suburb into a rat-ridden dumpsite.

One of the worst illegal dumpsites is in front of the Leyshaw Court flats on the corner of Leylands and Bagshaw streets.

Leyshaw Court landlord Andre Williams, 61, said he had raised his concerns and possible solutions with the municipality on several occasions, but to no avail.

Nelson Mandela Bay municipal spokesman Mthubanzi Mniki said the municipality was aware of the problem and had visited the area on December 4.

“Through investigation in December, the town ranger found the culprits were Cafe on Bagshaw and Wendy’s shop,” he said.

“The area is monitored regularly for dumping.”

Mniki said that both shops had been served with notices.

Williams said while the municipal refuse collection cleared the streets twice a week, residents from Leyshaw Court as well as surrounding flats and small businesses continued to dump their rubbish in the street.

“I have been living here all my life and dumping has always been a problem, but more so over the last decade, particularly at these flats as there are no designated dump areas on the premises, so people just dump on the road,” Williams said.

“We have bought two large bins which we thought would resolve the problem, but then all the surrounding flats and shops started dumping in the skips.

“So we removed them, but now everyone is still dumping in the same spot.”

Williams said he had written to the municipality and invited mayor Athol Trollip for a tour of problem areas.

However, mayoral spokesman Sibongile Dimbaza said Williams’s e-mail could not traced.

Williams also suggested using the abandoned Kumbulani High School – which burnt down eight years ago – as a dumpsite.

“The school hasn’t been used for almost a year,” he said.

“If the municipality uses the school’s fields it would solve the problem of illegal dumping as well as crime caused by the vagrants living on the school premises.”

Mniki said the school premises could not be used as it belonged to the provincial Department of Education.

Williams asked: “Why has another plan not been made, if they [municipality] are aware of the problem?”

The municipality has been struggling to deal with illegal dumping across the city for years and launched the War on Waste programme last year.

It subsequently pumped at least R7-million into curbing illegal dumping, but the programme has been riddled with issues.

A drive around North End yesterday showed a neighbourhood in an alarming state, with heaps of rubbish on most streets.

Constantia Court resident Nicki Wessels, 42, said the frequency of weekly refuse collections did not cater for the number of people living in North End.

“As a result, the street corners become rubbish dumps and the rubbish scattered around causes a big problem with rats,” she said.

Mayoral committee member for public health Lance Grootboom said: “We have a problem with businesses who don’t want to pay for refuse collection. We are discussing reviewing the fine, which is a R2 000 spot fine.”