Filth piling up in Kimberley

Rubbish is piling up in Kimberley in the Northern Cape with many tourists complaining and avoiding the CBD and the world famous Big Hole.

The local municipality has launched a new project calling on volunteers to help clean up the city.

Local tourism spots and residential areas are among those battling illegal dumping. Tourists taking a ride on the local tram are not impressed.

It’s become an eyesore for residents and those visiting historic places like the Big Hole. The local municipality has launched a new project calling on volunteers to help clean up the city.

Tourists taking a ride on the local tram are confronted with the filth rather than the history of the city.

Tourist Gabrielle Steyn says that she is not impressed with the filth.

“I don’t feel very nice about the trash and I saw trash just lying on the floor and I saw the trash lying next to the bin.”

Another tourist Cameron Watt says that there are plenty of bins which people do not use.

“I don’t understand why there’s trash lying on the floor around the bins while there’s plenty of them.”

Community members say illegal dumping sites around residential areas are a health hazard:

“We’ve got mice in our houses. We’ve got rats and when I talk to these people they use vulgar on me.”

“When the municipality can provide the people with dustbins, big dustbins. We need dustbins because the last time we had dustbins was 25 years back.”

The local Sol Plaatje Municipality says plans are in place to clean up the city. Municipality spokesperson Sello Matsie says that municipal officers will be appointed to enforce by-laws and educate the citizens about littering.

“It’s almost the entire city. The residents complain that the city is dirty and we agree with them, but we saying we need to work together.”

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