Cape Town - Congregants of the Beautiful Exchange Grace Church in Bonteheuwel accuse the City of Cape Town of initiating an illegal dumping spot near their premises and refusing to mitigate the escalating issue.
Pastor Norman Jacobs said the open land adjacent to the church has been vacant for many years.
He explained there were no hazardous activities until the City started with tarring and maintenance work at the Bonteheuwel Centre in March this year.
“The guys working there dumped concrete and other dirt on this land, and the community joined in,” he claimed.
“Now it's getting out of hand, and the City is being arrogant about taking the blame and clearing the place.
‘’We have complained many times, but eventually, they did pick up some of their dirt and left the rest.’’
The pastor said he approached the local councillor, who said it was privately owned land and that they could not intervene.
“Why, in the first place, did they dump there knowingly it's private property?” he asked.
“Why didn't they clean the entire place when they came to remove the concrete and rubble?
“They are the ones who are supposed to uphold the law in our communities, but for us, they're breaking it themselves.
‘’We don't know what to do anymore to stop the dumping and have the place cleaned up.”
Megan Smith, a congregant, said the City started barricading the parking lot when the church complained about the matter, but that made no difference.
‘’We are stuck with all this filth on our doorstep, putting the lives of many people coming to our church at risk,’’ she said.
“The dirt stinks, there are flies, cockroaches and rats going into our church, and we have children and seniors who may easily contract bacteria.”
Resident Angeline Martin said dumping is a problem in the area.
‘’Many people walk past there, children from outside the church play there, and criminals will start hiding there, and who knows what worse can happen?’’
Jacobs has been running the church for 12 years, hosting different social groups for the young and old three times a week and a service on Sundays.
Jacobs said he previously made suggestions that the vacant land be put to good use, such as a recreational park, to avoid it being a danger to the community and the churchgoers.
Angus McKenzie, the ward councillor said a portion of the land is privately owned and confirmed the City drops rubble during construction and collects it again.
The City said they were aware of the hotspot.
"This is cleaned on an ongoing basis including on weekends. Illegal dumping is an ongoing challenge in many areas, despite waste management services that are operating,“ they said.
“Communities need to help with stopping illegal dumping.”