Latest news with #AliciaKissoon
IOL News
7 days ago
- Health
- IOL News
eThekwini Municipality allocates R10 million for urgent repairs at Durban landfill sites
The eThekwini Municipality landfill sites will receive much needed repairs following the March 2025 floods in Durban. Image: File The eThekwini Municipality will spend R10 million to repair March 2025 storm-related damage at the Bisasar Road and Buffelsdraai landfill sites. The municipality stated that work has begun at Buffelsdraai, but none have yet begun at Bisasar Road in Clare Estate, where a contractor is being sourced by the Cleansing and Solid Waste Unit (CSW). In a report by CSW, it stated that infrastructure has been compromised and that these landfills are required by law to have waste disposal areas operated to prevent negative impacts such as odour, toxic leachate waters being formed from rainfall infiltration, and landfill gas migration, etc. The CSW stated that the repairs are deemed critical based on the damage requiring urgent attention. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading The sites were damaged because of rapid runoff coupled with the saturated soils from the rains that had resulted in these landfill sites experiencing flash flooding, which not only overwhelmed the site's infrastructure, but resulted in damages to leachate (toxic waste waters) systems, access erosion and consequential damage to landfill, and extraction pipework infrastructure. The report stated that CSW engineers have applied a due diligence assessment and categorised the site as bordering on unsafe and requiring a competent contractor/s to make the safe works and mitigate further negative impacts, noting that site teams have exhausted options internally to make good areas with temporary fixes. Other works will entail specialist works on leachate containment and landfill gas infrastructure, in which tenderers' attention to functionality will be needed. The report stated that failure to conduct repairs will result in pollution to the environment and a reduction in the waste management service standard for the ratepayers. Alicia Kissoon, eThekwini Ward 23 councillor, said residents surrounding Clare Estate raised concerns about the strong odours emanating from the Bisasar Road. Following interventions from CSW, Kissoon said that the landfill gas system is operational, pipe repairs have been completed, and an internal toolbox talk was conducted to ensure that staff avoid the recently damaged area, especially during wet weather. 'The removal of standing uncovered waste and the backlog of waste cover caused by recent flood events is ongoing. The odour control spray system has been ramped up, and operational staff hours have been extended to ensure continued maintenance of control systems. I will continue to monitor the situation and maintain open lines of communication with the department to ensure further mitigation and accountability,' she said. At a recent council meeting, Sunitha Maharaj, Minority Front councillor, said the Bisasar Road landfill site should have been decommissioned and rehabilitated as it has surpassed its lifespan. 'We support all measures to make landfill sites safe. It may or may not be common knowledge that this site poses serious environmental and health risks. Despite numerous requests from the affected community over the years to close the site, it remains open,' Maharaj said.
IOL News
03-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Ratepayer associations demand accountability in eThekwini's infrastructure projects
Ratepayer associations in the eThekwini Municipality continue to advocate for oversight of infrastructure projects to ensure budgets are spent accordingly and get value for money. Image: File Ratepayer associations in the eThekwini Municipality continue to advocate for oversight of infrastructure projects to ensure budgets are spent accordingly and get value for money. Alicia Kissoon, eThekwini Ward 23 and Democratic Alliance (DA) councillor, said they were alarmed by the findings presented at the Finance Committee meeting of March 2025, which confirm that the municipality is failing to invest in basic infrastructure while its financial position worsens. Kissoon said the municipality has spent just 7.87% of its total budget on capital projects like water, housing, and electricity. Kissoon stated that the municipality claims 96% of its grant funding has been spent, including internal transfers and operational costs. However, according to the municipality's own financial tables, only 55% of capital grants have been spent, leaving over R1.48 billion outstanding. 'That means for every rand spent, only eight cents went toward real, long-term service delivery. Meanwhile, the city's cash on hand has fallen to just 38 days, raising serious concerns about financial stability. The coalition in eThekwini is not building a city; it is managing decline - taps are dry, roads are crumbling, and funds meant for infrastructure are stuck in red tape.' Kissoon said that the DA will be tabling questions to the Finance Committee, calling for: A breakdown of capital projects by department and ward. Full disclosure of which grants are delivering infrastructure and which remain idle. The eThekwini Residents and Ratepayers Association (ERRA) chairperson Ish Prahladh said it was evident that there was neglect on water and road infrastructure in the municipality. 'Contractors that are appointed for our water, electricity, and roads infrastructure are failing us. Those appointing these failing contractors also need to be brought to book. There is no supervision to these contractors and sign offs after a job is being completed by city officials,'Prahladh said. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ The ERRA believes that the ratepayers' money is being misused and overspent as long as jobs are not quoted and finished properly. Prahladh said to save money, the municipality should use ward-based contractors. 'Plumbers do not know where the valves are; they spend a whole shift looking for valves and closing them. Then another shift looks for leaks and then another shift comes to repair the leak and starts looking for spares and then another shift fixes the leak and goes and then bursts again a few metres away. This is a waste of money,' Prahladh said. The ERRA believes that jobs are still issued to contractors that do not know what they are doing. 'Ratepayers should be included in the final assessment on contractors because we are on the ground with the contractors helping them. We even provide security for them on most occasions to help them complete the job,' Prahladh said. The eThekwini Ratepayers Protest Movement (ERPM) chairperson Asad Gaffar claimed that the DA has taken far too long to highlight the municipal flaws despite having a seat in the Finance Portfolio Committee. 'The movement has been saying this since inception. To make matters worse, the DA should be interrogating every expenditure that comes for sign-off. The fact that the administration had failed to spend its budget rests also on the DA. Putting a comment out that they are asking for an investigation shows that they have no clue what is going on,' Gaffar said.
