Marabastad Informal traders in Tshwane vow they won’t wait for City of Tshwane to collect waste instead they took upon themselves and get their hands dirty by cleaning up illegal dumping over the weekend.
They cleaned up illegal dumping at Putco bus rank in Marabastad.
More than 30 volunteered clean the place and also place people to guard the place.
Informal traders said they been complaining about the waste collection in Marabastad but nothing has been done.
Speaking to chairman Unified South African traders Ramodike Morema told the Tshwane Talks that all informal traders of Marabastad we came together and decided to clean up illegal dumping because it is affecting us all as business people of Marabastad.
We as the informal traders we cannot run business in the dirty area and our health are at risk and the environment is not good.
“We decided to clean up the illegal dumping that has been a nightmare to us for years,” Morema said.
He said the illegal dumping in Putco bus rank has been like this since 2019.
The reason people are throwing waste away where is not needed is because City officials who collect waste has not been to Marabastad to do their job.
The last time City of Tshwane came and collected waste was in November this year and ever since we have not seen any truck of City collecting waste in Marabastad.
“We blame the coalition in Tshwane, and it does not work for us.
This coalition is benefiting the party leaders only and they don’t care about the service delivery of the people of Tshwane,” he said.
Morema said illegal dumping has cost them money as businesspeople because they hire trucks and TLB to clear the place, but it is not enough.
We want our place of business to look beautiful and environmentally clean.
We are concern because people come with bakkies and throw their waste here and we want that to stop.
“This job is for city of Tshwane officials not us and we are paying heavy bills to Tshwane, but we pay for nothing, and we end up doing their jobs.
City of Tshwane might as well hire us and give us this job because we can do it and it is showing that they are failing to do it,” he said.
He said we do awareness campaign and informing informal traders and public to stop illegal dumping and they must throw waste at the bin not on the floor.
They always called City of Tshwane to enquire about the collection of waste, but we always get the same answers. We are told that city has 5 trucks and 1 TLB only.
Since we cleaned the place, we have put people to guard the place and if a person found throwing waste on the ground will be beaten up or force to clean up.
“We are pleading with public and informal traders of Marabastad to stop illegal dumping and there is bin to throw waste and let us love our environment and keep it cleans all the time, “Moremi said.
