24 Mar 2015

Kgatleng District Council has reviewed and increased the rates for community based refuse collection service contracts in recognition of the increasing operation costs for the provision of the service.

When delivering his speech during the Kgatleng District full council session on March 23, council chairperson, Mr Mpho Morolong, said the increases were from P9 to P12 per refuse drum emptied and from P12 to P18 per refuse drum emptied.

He said the rates for Oodi and Matebele council wards had also been increased from P12 to P18 per refuse drum emptied and P15 to P21 per refuse drum emptied. The chairperson further said the rates for these council wards were factored by the distance travelled by contractors to the Pilane landfill site for disposal of waste.

He told the councillors that the Pilane landfill which was commissioned in 1995 has since passed its design life span of 15 years. Mr Morolong said, nevertheless, they continue to experience challenges in the operation of the land fill which include lack of machinery making it difficult to achieve set standards.

“As a result, the landfill has turned into a dumping site and has now become a nuisance and an eyesore to the public using the A1 Highway”, said the council chairperson. He further said the situation has been made worse by Gaborone residents who transport waste to the site for disposal even though the landfill was planned to receive waste from Mochudi, Rasesa, Pilane, Morwa, Malotwane and Bokaa villages.

Therefore, Mr Morolong said they are pinning their hopes on the envisaged waste to energy plant that is being proposed for construction at the landfill site through the partnership of Kgatleng District Foundation and Synchroma Waste management (Pty) Ltd.

On other health issues, the Council chairperson said the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Vaccination campaign which was carried from the 23-27 February 2015 went very well. He said even though the target of 2902 was not reached, 2896 school girls between the ages of 9-13 years were vaccinated. Mr Morolong said the vaccines are designed to protect against the two HPV types that causes most cervical cancers. ENDS