AfriForum has raised the alarm about the deteriorating state of landfills in several Northern Cape towns, including Kimberley, Upington, Prieska, Kamieskroon, Williston and Springbok.
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IT STARTED as a whisper - an uneasy murmur among residents who noticed garbage drifting along the Orange River’s current. Then came the undeniable evidence: plastic bags entangled in reeds, animal carcasses washing ashore, and the unmistakable stench of decay.
For Northern Cape communities along the river, this wasn’t just an environmental issue - it was a crisis unfolding before their eyes.
AfriForum has raised the alarm about the deteriorating state of landfills in several Northern Cape towns, including Kimberley, Upington, Prieska, Kamieskroon, Williston and Springbok. In an unsettling revelation, a municipal worker in Prieska allegedly admitted that the Siyathemba Municipality had ordered him to dump raw waste directly into the Orange River.
“The waste flows downstream to other towns and eventually into the ocean. It’s an environmental catastrophe waiting to happen,” AfriForum’s district co-ordinator for the Kalahari, Werner Strauss, stated.
AfriForum recently conducted its annual landfill audit, inspecting various waste sites across the Northern Cape. What they found was deeply troubling: open dumps without fencing, no control over what was being disposed of, and an array of hazardous materials - from animal carcasses to tires - piled up unchecked.
Perhaps most shocking was the presence of informal dwellers at the landfill sites, eking out a desperate existence among the refuse while lighting fires that pose a serious threat in the drought-stricken region.
In Prieska, where the garbage collection truck has been deemed unroadworthy, waste collection has become increasingly erratic. Residents have little choice but to dispose of their trash wherever possible, and with no proper landfill management, the Orange River has become a dumping ground.
Rubble dumped on the banks of the Vaal River in Prieska.
Image: Supplied
Not all towns, however, are suffering the same fate. Upington’s landfill site has undergone improvements, thanks in part to public pressure and AfriForum’s involvement. The Dawid Kruiper Municipality has acquired new compactors, implemented security measures, and installed fencing around the site.
While the town still faces challenges, these measures show that intervention can make a difference. The question now is: will the same effort be applied to the rest of the province?
Plastic bottles and bags floating in the Vaal River in Upington.
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Springbok’s landfill tells a different story - one of a community that tried to intervene but saw its efforts washed away. AfriForum’s local branch worked alongside the Namakwa Municipality to restore order, hiring a compactor to clear and properly dispose of waste. Unfortunately, this was only a temporary fix. Today, the landfill is once again in disarray, with livestock grazing among the trash.
“The landfills have no drainage systems, no emergency plans - nothing,” Strauss emphasised. “If something isn’t done soon, we’ll be dealing with an irreversible disaster.”
For residents living along the Orange River, this crisis is more than an abstract concern - it’s their reality. Every day, they see the water that sustains them being contaminated with waste. Every day, they wonder when authorities will take action before it’s too late.
Local communities have pressing questions: How long will this be allowed to continue? How long will municipal authorities go unpunished? The lack of consequences enables this ongoing practice, leaving residents and livestock along the riverbanks to suffer.
The Northern Cape Department of Agriculture, Environmental Affairs, Rural Development and Land Reform had not responded to media enquiries or requests for comment by the time of publication.
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