30 Nov 2022

Government is concerned about indiscriminate disposal of waste, including construction waste.

The Minister of Environment and Tourism, Ms Phildah Kereng, told Parliament that illegal disposal of construction waste was more prominent on the outskirts of Selebi Phikwe where there was less activity.

Ms Kereng said observation on illegal disposal of waste in and around the town had been reported to forums such as the Urban Development Committee as a challenge that needed to be addressed for the past few months, citing that the dumping was done at odd hours (mainly at night), hence the low detections.

“We have realised that the construction industry is not fully aware of the services of accepting construction waste at the landfill. We have, therefore, taken it upon ourselves that we will engage the sector on the avenues of disposing the waste at the landfill, to reduce the amount of waste disposal in the environment, as well as creating opportunities for businesses,” she said.

Ms Kereng, however, said they would intensify law enforcement operations to arrest offenders, mentioning that as a collective of stakeholders responsible for waste management, they intended to re-introduce green scorpions to intensify law enforcement, promote partnerships with the private sector to improve waste management, designate sites for disposal of construction and demolition waste to avoid indiscriminate dumping in the environment, intensify public education and awareness and declare last Friday of every month as national clean-up day.

Her response followed a question from Selebi Phikwe East MP, Mr Kgoberego Nkawana, regarding the indiscriminate disposal of waste and interventions to resolve the situation in Selebi Phikwe and other areas. Ends