Durban - Members of the KwaZulu-Natal legislature have called on provincial and national governments to provide more funding to enable municipalities to manage landfill sites.
The chairperson of the Conservation and Environmental Affairs Portfolio Committee, James Nxumalo, made the call following an oversight visit to several municipalities in the province.
He tabled the committee’s report before a full sitting of the KZN legislature on Thursday. The municipalities that were visited included Umuziwabantu, Greater Kokstad and uMhlabuyalingana municipalities.
Nxumalo said the visits revealed the need to enhance the capacity of municipalities to deliver on their waste management objectives. He revealed that some of the challenges that were evident during the visit included:
* Providing a shelter for recyclers for compliance purposes.
* Developing a clear strategy on waste recycling that would also enhance waste recycling initiatives by the municipalities.
* Developing a waste screening process at landfill site entrances.
* Developing a proper management system to ensure that there is no negative environmental impact because of landfill sites.
He added that it was important that the assistance was provided to municipalities urgently regarding the waste management facilities.
“ At the centre of the challenges that we identified is that more resources and constant monitoring are required. This would ensure that municipalities are indeed assisted to meet their waste management objectives,” Nxumalo said.