Letsatsi Selikoe
THE Tṧosane dumpsite, which has been wreaking environmental and health havoc in the surrounding community, should never have existed in the first place. The place was never legally designated as a dumping site and those using it as such should have been prosecuted.
But the incompetence of successive governments in Lesotho let the dumpsite problem fester for three decades until it became unbearable to the surrounding community which is now up in arms against Prime Minister Sam Matekane’s government.
A parliamentary Natural Resources Portfolio Cluster Committee was told this week that the dumpsite should never have been allowed to exist in the first place and measures should have been long taken to curtail its development. Nothing had been done by the responsible environmental ministry three decades on. Even after the Waste Management Act 2008 was passed with more stringent measures against illegal dumping, nothing was done.
All this was revealed before the cluster committee which gathered this week to address two petitions by the Tṧosane community and the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) against the dumpsite. During the committee’s proceedings, the magnitude of the negligence of successive governments became crystal clear.
The portfolio committee’s chairperson, Moeketsi Motṧoane, flanked by his fellow committee members, asked Ministry of Environment and Forestry officials what plans they had to address the negative impact of the dumpsite, which is negatively impacting the health of surrounding community members.
But the officials appeared to have no concrete plan. In fact, they said the ministry did not have a budget to deal with the problem. This dumbfounded Tṧosane community members who have been repeatedly promised that action was being taken to address the problem.
As the committee’s proceedings continued, it became evident that the Tṧosane dumpsite had not only been ignored but left to fester to its current toxic state for decades while residents suffered the consequences.
The Maseru City Council (MCC), which was responsible for managing the dump site, was in direct violation of the law, as it had failed to protect a community against an environmental hazard. It was potentially liable for punishment.
The lack of seriousness in tackling the dumpsite problem was further illustrated by the testimony of Mr Khutlo Mokete, representing the ministry of local government and Maseru City Council at the committee’s proceedings.
Mr Mokete revealed that despite the Tṧosane dump site being illegal and already causing significant harm to the environment and surrounding community, the MCC had not even applied for a new land declaration authority for the relocation of the dumpsite to the new place in Tṧoeneng being considered as a replacement site.
This further enraged members of the Tṧosane community.
Lebohang Phohleli, the MP for Rothe constituency, under the ruling Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) banner, denounced the plan of using Tṧoeneng as a relocation site without the requisite waste management measures having been put in place first.
“If the Maseru City Council plans to relocate the trash to Tṧoeneng, they must ensure that proper waste management and processing measures are in place,” Mr Phohleli said.
The Tṧosane representatives, who have been tirelessly advocating for a solution, were angered that the issue is not being taken seriously despite previous assurances.
But amidst the dismay that filled the parliamentary committee meeting, a glimmer of hope emerged.
The government officials present acknowledged the seriousness of the dumpsite issue and proposed a joint effort among key stakeholders – including waste management and recycling companies – to tackle the problem. Alternative methods of waste processing and management are also to be explored.
But until concrete action is finally realised, the Tṧosane community can only live in hope.
