FCC fights environmental pollution
Lesedi Mkhutshwa | Monday September 13, 2021 08:51
Some people continue with indiscriminate waste dumping even though there are existing laws that forbid littering and dumping which leave the city filthy. Following the FCC clean-up campaign launch, Mmegi spoke to the chief environmental health officer on their plans to keep the city tidy.
In an interview, Mopako said hey have deployed council workers on the ground from their waste management department to solely guard the identified illegal dumping sites. He indicated that they have so far identified 15 illegal dumping sites which include Francistown Sports Complex, Kgaphamadi, Goldmine Junior Secondary School and Selepa along the old Matsiloje road.
He added that the initiative, which was started last year October, has yielded results as they have on different locations arrested quite a number of people. Mopako said since the beginning of the initiative, 132 wrongdoers were caught red-handed dumping waste at restricted areas. He shared that the offenders were fined P1,000 or more. He added that most of the illegal waste dumping interception has shown a lot of illegal activities that take place at night or early in the morning. According to the FCC chief environmental health officer, even though they continue educating people about making use of the local landfill, most residents still do not recognise the need to dispose waste safely. He indicated that the local landfill is approximately 6km away from the furthest residential area hence people should be able to hire vans to dispose waste there. Mopako added: “Most people dump waste at illegal sites claiming that the landfill is far, something which I believe is false but rather instigated by their mindsets.”
He likened the issue of waste management services to paying one’s utilities such as water and electricity and further stated that people should be able to dispose their waste properly for the cleanliness of the environment. He said as the local authority they have taken a decision to embark on robust public education quarterly to teach Francistowners about how to dispose waste correctly. In regards to their plans to save the rivers in their locality, he said the issue is beyond the council as it involves different government departments and is normally discussed at urban development meetings. He believed that there will be clear planning about the rivers and how they can be saved very soon.