Inxuba Yethemba Municipality dodged a R10-million fine after entering into a plea agreement with the state. It was fined R1-million, wholly suspended for five years, at the Cradock Regional Court on Monday.

The municipality was charged with contravening the National Environmental Management Act of 1998.

The municipality pleaded guilty to one count of non-compliance with a compliance notice, and a second count of non-compliance with the Waste Act of 2008.

In count one, the municipality unlawfully allowed the frequent burning of waste, ineffective access control and allowed general waste to be randomly disposed of on the non-permitted site.

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In count two, the municipality unlawfully failed to comply with a compliance notice in terms of the National Environmental Management Act.

A plea was entered into on behalf of the state by prosecutor Makabongwe Seyibokwe. Municipal manager Mkhululi Mbebe was represented by attorney Vuyani Majebe.

The parties agreed that counts one and two would be taken together for purposes of sentencing and the municipality was fined R1-million. The fine was suspended for five years on the following conditions:

• That the accused is not convicted of any further offences in terms of the National Environmental Management Act during the period of suspension;
• That the operations on the landfill site are brought into compliance with the provisions of the National Environmental Management: Waste Act in that the accused will, from the date of the judgment, comply with the provisions of the compliance notice issued to the Municipal Manager on 9 September 2016 by the Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism.

According to the plea agreement, the municipality applied to the department for a waste management licence for the decommissioning of the solid waste landfill site in Cradock.

The licence was granted and the municipality had to operate the site according to specific conditions.

“[The department] was responsible for the enforcement of environmental legislation, to wit, enforcement of the management and permit conditions of Cradock landfill site. The site had many problems that were never successfully resolved due to poor management of the facility and financial constraints on a local, provincial and national level. Pollution and environmental degradation occurred,” read the agreement.

Lapsed licence

It said the municipality did not apply for an extension of the waste management licence after it lapsed in 2018.

“Site visits, for inspection and compliance purposes, dated as far back as 2012, exposed operational, management non-compliance, non-adherence issues such as waste site fires, non-compaction of the site, wind-blown litter and ineffective access control that were detrimental to the health of workers as well as that of the nearby communities.

“Numerous interventions from different stakeholders did not remedy the issues,” the agreement said.

As a result of several complaints made to the municipality, the department issued a compliance notice in September 2016. 

“Officials from various stakeholders exhausted all avenues of intervention, and it was clear that no prospect of success would materialise,” said the agreement.

Environmental degradation

The municipality admitted that it did not apply for an extension of the permit and that poor management of the site had led to significant pollution and environmental degradation.

Monde Desha, DA councillor in the Inxuba Yethemba municipality, said it had experienced problems with its landfill site in Cradock for a long period. 

“The site has been unsecured for many years and the unlawful burning of waste at the facility has exposed neighbouring residents to poisonous fumes. 

“Local businesses, through the Cradock Business Forum, instituted legal action against the municipality, with the court directing that the municipality should comply with the conditions of its waste management licence,” he said. DM/OBP