Deputy Minister Sotyu hands-over a waste collection compactor truck to Matjhabeng Local Municipality ahead of Presidential Imbizo
Deputy Minister Sotyu hands-over a waste collection compactor truck to Matjhabeng Local Municipality ahead of Presidential Imbizo
07 April 2022
Today, the Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Ms Makhotso Sotyu, handed over a waste collection compactor truck to the Matjhabeng Local Municipality (Welkom) in Free State to support the municipality’s efforts in effective waste collection and landfill management.
The deputy minister was joined by Matjhabeng Local Municipality Mayor, Councillor Thanduxolo Khalipa.
The handover of the compact truck by the Deputy Minister Sotyu took place on the eve of post-SONA Presidential Imbizo in the Free State Province.
Deputy Minister Sotyu challenged the community of Welkom to work together with their municipality to ensure their areas, especially open spaces, are kept clean and green.
“Communities are using illegal sites to dump their refuse as a result of insufficient waste collection services. The illegal dumping and littering have created serious environmental and health hazards and our intervention today is aimed at addressing that challenge,” said Deputy Minister Sotyu.
The intervention by the deputy minister emanates from her 2019 visit to the municipality where the challenges of waste management in the area were brought to her attention. Matjhabeng and other local municipalities in the Free State have found themselves challenged in delivering adequate waste collection services due to budgetary constraints. It was also discovered that landfill sites are not adhering to regulations by compacting the waste before disposing at the sites due to lack of equipment and landfill fleet.
In response to the challenges on waste management identified, the department in partnership with Matjhabeng Local Municipality has conceptualized various projects as support packages to address the challenges of waste services in un-serviced areas. One of those packages includes the purchase of a waste compactor truck valued at R2.5 million to assist the municipality improve their service delivery.
The truck’s addition to the municipal fleet will have a huge impact in assisting the municipality in its waste collection efforts in the area, protecting the environment from negative effects of pollution through illegal dumping and littering as well as improved landfill operations.
Sotyu further remarked that “It is envisaged that these projects will serve as catalysts to improving in waste management in the municipality especially on waste collection, recycling and landfill site management.”
The hand-over was preceded by a clean-up campaign around the Welkom city centre to promote educational waste awareness, reduce littering and illegal dumping in open spaces.
The handover was preceded by a clean-up activities in the Welkom city centre led by the deputy minister and the local leadership and Working on Fire firefighters.
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