A recycling organisation says it had been sustaining more than a 100 people in Vrygrond and surrounds for a year until three weeks ago when the City of Cape Town stopped the job supplier from delivering waste materials to the recycling hub in Vrygrond.
This action sparked the residents of Xaxabantu informal settlement and leaders of the recycling organisation to vent their frustration at a protest march on Friday March 22 when they made a call to bring back their means of livelihood, as well as highlighting their right to other service delivery.
Mikel Kumalo, the founder of Back2Work campaign, a non-profit organisation that helps the unemployed find an income selling recyclable materials, told Southern Mail that a private company WasteMart, tendered by the City of Cape Town, a year ago, was stopped three weeks ago from delivering recyclable and non recyclable materials to Mr Kumalo’s Mike’s Recycling Workshop. Community members were given the opportunity to sort the material and Mr Kumalo then buys the recyclables from them and take the non recyclables to the landfill.”
Anele Stemela, chairperson of Back2Work, who led the protest march, said: “We had two different memorandums signed by Desiree Mentor, senior manager of the City of Cape Town because there was no signature of Grant Twigg, Mayoral committee member for urban waste management or his representative, at the time, which makes us feel very sad by such unprofessional behaviour.”
The leaders gave the City seven days to respond to the grievances which included opening up the recycling site at the Coastal Park landfill, as well as service delivery for water supply in Xaxabantu, proper toilet facilities, instead of porta potties, temporary electricity use and job opportunities.
Mr Kumalo said the community project was also a way of making people aware of the need for recycling. The loss of this job opportunity may “lead to driving people into committing crime and again we try to demonstrate in peaceful means.”
City speaker Felicity Purchase said the sub-council chairperson received the memorandum.
When asked why WasteMart was stopped from dropping off recyclable materials as well as if Coastal Park can alternatively be opened for the community to use the drop off facility for recyclable use, Ms Purchase, said, “this is part of the City’s waste management policy and the facility at Coastal Park is designed to allow locals to do sorting of waste recycling. This will allow job opportunities for the locals.
“We need to formalise the process into a structured system which can benefit all who are in this space.”
In response to the other services delivery issues, Ms Purchase said: “A site visit has been undertaken (to the Xakabantu area).
To the request for toilets and not porta potties, she said: “As this settlement is an illegal land invasion and not a formal settlement, the informal settlements need to do a survey and assessment on what is required to ensure that the environment is adequately serviced. This has been referred to them to begin the process.”
About the temporary electricity boxes, Ms Purchase said: “This will be determined by the survey and the way forward will be planned and budgeted for.”
On the request for job opportunities, she said: “The EPWP database is available for all unemployed people to register on and the Sub Council manager has explained this process.”