Latest news with #CleansingandSolidWasteUnit
IOL News
3 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Political stability essential for Durban's ambitious targets, says Mayor Xaba
eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba has called for political stability at an administrative level; otherwise, the city will not be able to achieve its targets. Image: Independent Media Archives eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba has called for political stability at an administrative level; otherwise, the city will not be able to achieve its targets Xaba was unpacking the budget for the 2025/2026 financial year at a business breakfast held in Durban on Wednesday. The municipality has a R70 billion budget, which is made up of an operating budget of R63bn and a capital budget of R7bn. Xaba also spoke of the water and sanitation turnaround strategy, which has been adopted by the council and approved by the National Treasury. He said the electricity unit is also undergoing the same process, and will be followed by the Cleansing and Solid Waste Unit (CSW). 'The ultimate goal of these reforms is to have self-contained utilities that are able to render these basic services in the most effective and efficient manner,' Xaba said. Xaba, who had outlined multimillion-rand investments in the city, called for a collective effort from all stakeholders for the city to reach its targets. Addressing the guests and municipal management, and looking towards city manager Musa Mbhele, Xaba said: 'The city will not be able to achieve all of these things under the administration you lead, city manager (Musa Mbhele), there are upheavals.' Looking towards Mbhele, Xaba added: 'We need your team to cooperate with you to deliver on these achievements, and for me as the political head, it is to ensure that there is political stability in the city.' Xaba went on to say that politics and business are two sides of the same coin. He then used the French expression "tête-à-tête" which means "head to head", but in English, it refers to a private conversation between two people. During the previous budget consultations, businesses raised concerns about the unaffordability of tariffs as they exceed inflation, which negatively impacts the cost of doing business in the city and service delivery. Xaba said the consultative process was not just a box-ticking exercise, but a genuine effort to deliver a budget for all eThekwini residents. The tariff increases for the 2025/2026 financial year are as follows: Domestic water tariff: +13%, Water tariff for business: +14%. The average property rates: +5.9%. Domestic and business refuse removal: +9% Electricity: +12.72% Bishop Vusi Dube, of eThekwini Community Church (ECC), said the interfaith structures can play a role in the city with moral regeneration, which also seeks to address drug abuse and homelessness. Other speakers were concerned about community health centres, crime, undocumented people in the inner city, and water issues. Xaba acknowledged that a great deal must be done to revive the city centre and briefed guests about the implementation of the inner city regeneration programme. 'Through this bold initiative, we want to improve public safety, address the challenge of homelessness – eradicating bad buildings, upgrading public realms, patching potholes, and ensuring that streetlights are on.'
IOL News
4 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.
