TALK of the Town’s queries and exposure about 27 bags of uncollected refuse in William Cock Road, Port Alfred, prompted a response from Ndlambe Municipality which came to collect the bags the following day.
Resident Lyn Oosthuizen said the municipal refuse truck driver apologised for not collecting it earlier. She thanked Talk of the Town.
Below is the original story which appeared in TotT this week:
APPALLED at rubbish which has been scattered in her street each week when vagrants and dogs tear open refuse bags, a resident of William Cock Road on the East Bank has been asking Ndlambe Municipality to clean up the mess for the past eight months, to no avail.
Lyn Oosthuizen first started calling the municipality’s community protection services directorate in August last year, and has kept a record of every call she made – the latest being on March 31.
“I spoke to someone named Vicky, and on each occasion she told me she would organise someone to come and sort it out, which never happened,” Oosthuizen said.
Fed up with the lack of response and the eyesore in her street, she eventually took it on herself, by hiring someone, to pick up all the scattered rubbish and put it in black refuse bags. The rubbish filled 25 bags in total. She has kept these piled in her driveway to secure them from dogs and vagrants.
Oosthuizen then asked the municipality to collect these bags, but they have not, the reason given by refuse workers being that each household is limited to two bags a week. When she tried to explain it was not her household refuse, but the rubbish she had picked up in her street, her explanation was ignored.
She continued to call “Vicky” at community protection services and was given the same assurances that it would be attended to, but it has not.
[pullquote]I really don’t see why we have to pay rates as well as clean up other people’s household refuse[/pullquote]
Oosthuizen also contacted Ward 10 councillor Ray Schenk about the issue in December. “He told me he would see to it straight away… never happened.”
She sent a Whatsapp message to Schenk again on March 30, and received no response.
“They are all useless,” the frustrated resident said.
“I really don’t see why we have to pay rates as well as clean up other people’s household refuse.”
Last week more rubbish was scattered where Oosthuizen had cleaned, and she filled two more bags – so now there are 27.
In response, Schenk said: “Indeed, I did report the matter ‘straight away’ to the relevant department. I am disappointed that it did not happen. I have again reported it to the relevant department and will follow up tomorrow [Wednesday] to ascertain whether it was done.”
Ndlambe municipal spokesman Cecil Mbolekwa had not replied to TotT’s queries at the time of going to press.
