Umsunduzi municipality blames budget, procurement policies for landfill issues
The local municipality has been taken to court by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) over the state of the site.
PIETERMARITZBURG - The Umsunduzi local municipality has argued in the Pietermaritzburg High Court that budgetary constraints as well procurement policies were some of the reasons why it had failed to fully comply with environmental and health laws at its New England Road landfill site.
The local municipality has been taken to court by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) over the state of the site.
The commission is seeking a declaration which will force the municipality to develop a clear strategy of how it plans to clean up its act.
The SAHRC said that poor management by the Umsunduzi local municipality of its New England Road landfill site had contributed to the emission of toxic fumes and the outbreak of fires in Pietermaritzburg.
The municipality’s lawyer, Yugen Moodley, said that failure to ensure full compliance with environmental and health laws had not been intentional.
"The municipality, from time to time, is faced with various challenges, which, at times, makes it practically difficult to comply."
KwaZulu-Natal manager of the South African Human Rights Commission, Lloyd Lotz, said that court intervention was desperately needed.
"It's been over 10 years and to date, as we speak, there's been a series of non-compliance with various laws, as we've mentioned. Invariably, the municipality has violated the Constitution."
The SAHRC said that they felt that court action was the only way to get the municipality to fully comply with environmental and health laws.
The commission said that discussions with the municipality by public institutions, including the KwaZulu-Natal Environment Affairs Department, for over a decade had not yielded any positive results.
Lotz: "We were seeking a declarator that there's been a violation of Section 24 of the Constitution and a number of environmental laws."
Arguing before Rishi Seegobin in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Friday, Moodley said that the non-compliance was not intentional as they faced challenges.
"These are challenges such as budgetary constraints, you have to follow your supply chain management policies, which results in delays and so forth."
Judgement on the matter has been reserved.
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