Barrier around Die Hoewes dumpsite raised to prevent worsening crisis

Tshwane says it has raised barriers around Die Hoewes dumpsite to prevent a worsening crisis.

Locals have been illegally dumping along Rabie Street in Die Hoewes, raising the concerns of neighbouring residents and business.

Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said the proactive measure taken to curb dumping at the site was the addition of berms to prevent vehicles from accessing the site since the cleanup.

“The TMPD has been requested to intensify patrol efforts in such areas that are prone to illegal dumping.

“There are also ongoing internal discussions with relevant stakeholders to explore the possibility of other measures to prevent dumping.”

Mashigo said non-compliance notices were being issued, followed by enforcement action to address the informal trading and waste picking along the site.

“However, such actions can only be carried out where the affected areas are within city owned land.”

He said a joint site inspection involving relevant departments is planned to determine the best course of action to be taken.

Mashigo added that the TMPD would form part of the joint inspections to determine what possible security measures would be possible for this site.

He said in May the metro had announced that it was committed to providing quality waste management services to keep the city clean. The MMC for Environment and Agriculture Management at the time had said the department allocated R2.079-billion in the 2024/25 financial year to address litter and ensure that the environment was clean and healthy.

Residents and business have increasingly complained about illegal dumping along Rabie Street in Die Hoewes.

The site has seen a significant rise in waste accumulation in recent years, with waste pickers and illegal dumpers taking advantage of the location.

According to Stephan Swanepoel of Cosmos Café, the situation has worsened dramatically since Rekord reported on the matter in May.

“Earlier this year there was a bit of space, but now the waste has accumulated immensely all over, and it’s nearing our buildings,” he said.

He said the growing mountain of waste has also been linked to rising criminal activities in the area.

“I heard a lady screaming recently while I was offloading things from my car in the parking lot.”

He said, upon looking up, he witnessed a distressing scene in which a woman was being dragged into the nearby informal settlement.

Swanepoel said such incidents have become more frequent in the area.

Despite police patrols in the area, Swanepoel believes that their effort has yielded little in terms of lasting improvement.

“The TMPD came here a few months ago and broke down some of the houses at the informal settlement. A week later, the houses were rebuilt.”

He said police demolished the houses two or three times between January and three months ago.

“Now they just come every now and then just to check, but nothing gets done,” said Swanepoel.

Business has also been affected by drug-related activities and suspicious taxi stops, which have been a constant issue.

Due to the escalating crime rate, Swanepoel took significant steps to enhance the security of his business.

“I had to redo the entire security system at the shop because of all the break-ins that we have had before.”

He said new lights have been installed outside the shop and the entire security system has been changed.

Swanepoel said the installation of outdoor lights has prevented any recent break-ins, but the effectiveness of the measure is still uncertain.

“The café has been broken into at least once a year in the past six years.

“Even though I have intensified the security at the shop, I am still afraid that something might happen and put my business in danger,” he said.

Swanepoel said another of his concerns is that people from an informal settlement come into his shop to ask his clients for food or money.

“One incident involved a lady who was being followed by a man around the shop asking for money.”

This situation and the criminal activities in the area have affected Swanepoel’s business, as many of his regular customers have left.

“Our usual clients that have supported us for many years told us that they don’t feel safe parking their cars here, so they no longer come.

“We have car guards that work on weekends and one car guard during the week, but people still don’t feel safe leaving their cars.”

Swanepoel added that they have had a few car break-ins over the years.

He said his own business car and other people’s cars have been broken into, and one car was stolen.

“This has also been an issue for us, even before some of the people that live in the informal settlement even came here.

“All this started when we moved in here, and we’ve been here for just over six years.”

Swanepoel said he recently found out the land along the road is municipal land and has become a dumpsite.

He said the land on the other side close to his business does not belong to the municipality.

“We had a lady that came here saying she was part of a land development company and that they want to buy the land and do something with it.”

Swanepoel said the lady went to the municipality and was told they didn’t know who owns the other half of the land.

He said they were told that the municipality owns one part of it but that they didn’t know who owned the rest.

Ward councillor David Farquharson said the various departments involved at the site, including the waste department, TMPD, and land invasion unit, were aware of the situation.

“There have been a couple of small clean-ups at the site, but nothing has been done regarding the root cause of the problem.”

He said it is still unclear how the matter would be resolved due to the current political instability the metro is facing.

“At this stage, it is still unknown if the protection of municipal land is now a priority,” said Farquharson.

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