During August, Baysville residents living near Valley and Anderson roads opposite Baysville School of Skills cleared the unmaintained municipal land across the road from the school as a means to mitigate dumping practices and other health and safety hazards.
Resident Lindsay Pollock says the chronic dumping of waste had been occurring for years but requests for Buffalo City Municipal metro services to intervene had not been responded to.
Residents believe increased crime in the area like petty burglary and theft is connected to the lack of maintenance of this municipal area.
Pollock said the local branch of the DA had sent in a team last year to clear the area adjacent to the two roads but nothing had been done since then despite ward 47 ward Councillor Funeka Wolose’s repeated requests for intervention.
The residents pooled funds to employ a contractor who cleared the municipal ground bordering their houses.
A team of local unemployed people was paid to collect the illegally dumped rubbish. Local businessman Anthony Cox contributed plenty of resources towards clearing the area and says he was motivated to do so out of concern for the safety of the residents and his property.
Pollock says “as ratepayers who are paying some of the highest rates in the country, we have had enough of a corrupt and inefficient municipality.
“The ward councillor, Funeka Wolose, has appealed constantly for assistance. She can only do so much.
“The municipality seems incapable of looking after our city and so the residents have stepped up.”
Going forward, the community wants to turn the area into a park that can be used by the children in the area.
Pollock says “the municipality is failing on so many levels that communities need to start taking responsibility and contribute their time and labour. It takes some leadership to initiate change.”
Cox says BCM needs to better manage waste systems and allocate areas where people can dispose of their waste as poor waste management also underpins the illegal dumping on this particular piece of municipal land.
