20 Aug 2025

Residents of Rasesa, Pilane, Morwa and Bokaa are up in arms over the mismanagement of Pilane landfill.

In a recent kgotla meeting addressed by Kgatleng District Council chairperson, Mr Thabo Komane, they said toxins produced from the constant fires at the landfill were a serious health hazard. They said the black and dense smoke that the waste disposal facility produced on a daily basis found its way into their houses even with windows closed, polluting the air they breathed and therefore compromising their health.

“We cannot continue waking up to black dense smoke that finds its way into our houses even when we have closed our windows,” said Rasesa Village Development Committee (VDC) chairperson, Ms Semakaleng Letsholo.

Ms Letsholo said residents were demanding answers about the persistent fire outbreaks at the landfill and its continual use despite it having been a nightmare to their lives for a long time. She said they had long suggested closure of the landfill because the fires were left unattended for extended periods, arguing also that the landfill was an eyesore to road users of the A1, one of the country’s busiest roads.

Mr Selelo Ketshabile, also of Rasesa, said landfill operations had degenerated to the level of a dumping site with the resultant consequences of scavengers scrambling for food items, at times resulting in accidental fires. He suggested that there should be firebreaks to create a barrier and control fires in the event of outbreaks.

In his response, Mr Geoffrey Koodirile, director of Envesys Services, a company contracted to maintain the landfill, said they were equally concerned about rampant fire outbreaks at the landfill. Mr Koodirile said initially they had thought that the fires were caused by a mixture of gases produced by decomposition of waste, but had since realised that some of the fires were human-induced.

He alleged that people who scavenged for food items had destroyed the perimeter fence of the facility and had also resorted to setting fires deliberately so that they could salvage metals from the landfill after burning waste. Mr Koodirile conceded that the fires at the landfill posed a health hazard both to employees of the company and to residents staying in the vicinity of the landfill. Mr Koodirile promised residents that the company would continue to reinforce security at the landfill as well as to strengthen firefighting systems.

Council chairperson Mr Komane, shared his roadmap with residents, citing among his priorities plans to improve storm water drainage in the district, a development that he said had started as the water drainage masterplan was long drafted and awaited implementation. He also said the council was working tirelessly to improve its revenue in order to augment funds from the consolidated fund.

Mr Komane informed residents about Botswana Economic Transformation Programme (BETP), an initiative that he described as a paradigm shift in the execution of government development plans, projects and programmes and that it was designed to deliver more impactful projects

In that regard, he urged residents to identify three high potential projects that would deliver jobs and turn around rural economies, and he encouraged them to look for those in areas such as financial services, manufacturing and energy. Mr Komane also told residents that the Ipelegeng programme was temporarily suspended to be reviewed, adding that VDC guidelines would also be subjected to review. ENDS