11 Aug 2022

Jwaneng Town Council intends taking stern action against people involved in illegal disposal of waste at non-designated areas.

Speaking in an interview, Jwaneng mayor, Ms Olga Ditsie said the council had been lenient far too long and it was now time to start penalising the offenders.

She said illegal dumping especially rubble by construction companies around Jwaneng, which had been a concern over the years and showed no signs of abating was getting worse hence the need to act against perpetrators.

“All along when we caught someone illegally dumping, we just ordered them to remove the rubble and dispose it at the right place, without any penalties, but now we will soon start imposing a charge. I have engaged the council attorney to map a way forward,” she said.

The civic leader said that what was more baffling was that disposal of all kinds of waste at the council landfill was free, which ruled out costs as reasons for people to throw waste everywhere.

“Even though our landfill has reached its lifespan, the situation has worsened and  we still have space for waste disposal,” she said. Ms Ditsie also said that the littering was not because of lack of public education as that had been done.

“In any way, even if there was no public education, one does not need to be told that littering is wrong, but public education is always done nonetheless,” she said.

Ms Ditsie also said that the fact that the Jwaneng Town Council had been providing free household and garden waste collection all those years, it had left them with suspicions that the illegal dumping was partly by villagers around town.

She said that the waste, especially construction rubble was in such large quantities that it was clear that it was done by construction companies and not individuals. She also implored businesses in town to engage collection companies legally registered with the town council for ease of traceability in case they dispose waste illegally.

Ms Ditsie also implored the Jwaneng community to always report any illegal dumping to the authorities for proper action against perpetrators.

An enthusiast of a cleaner environment, Ms Ditsie indicated that littering was a concern more so that it defeated the environmental regeneration strategy that the township launched last year, which aimed at keeping the town as clean and green as possible.

“Our town is associated with diamonds, a beautiful mineral, so it becomes embarrassing when visitors come and find the town and its surroundings dirty. We had international visitors last month for the Desert Bushwalk and just imagine how they should have felt when they saw all the littering around,” she said.

Ms Ditsie however, said that she took solace in the fact that regardless of indiscriminate  disposal of waste, the town was clean. ends