Criminal case opened over river dumping

Wildlife rescue expert Arnold Slabbert opened a criminal case at Humewood police station on Friday, alleging that tonnes of road rubble and tar were dumped on the Baakens River banks in Gqeberha.

Rubble buried kingfisher nesting burrows

The material, which included old tar and road-building waste from South Union Street repairs, allegedly covered kingfisher nesting burrows along the riverbank during breeding season.

Birds and chicks may have been killed

Slabbert alleged that birds, eggs and chicks inside the burrows may have been killed when the rubble was dumped on top of the nesting sites.

Contractor should have used disposal facility

The rubble came from roadworks carried out by a company contracted by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. Slabbert said the contractor should have disposed of material at an authorised facility rather than dumping it beside the river.

Slabbert describes the dumping as deliberate

Slabbert said tar must be specially disposed of, which costs money. He alleged someone told the contractor to dump the material in a hole without knowing kingfisher nests were there.

“They said to the contractor, just dump the stuff in this hole. Unfortunately for them, the banks were full of pied kingfisher nests.”

All breeding birds died, Slabbert says

Slabbert said birds had been inside the burrows when the rubble was dumped. They were breeding with chicks and eggs inside and had no chance of survival when tonnes of rubble fell on them.

“All of those birds died. They were inside, busy breeding. They had chicks, they had eggs. They had no chance.”

Baakens River already under threat

Slabbert said the incident is particularly concerning because the Baakens River is under continuous threat from development and pollution. Chunks of asphalt fell into the already fragile river, which he described as basically used as a sewage canal.

“The Baakens River is under continuous threat from development and pollution. The collapse of municipal infrastructure has ensured that tons of sewage get into that river.”

Ward councillor calls dumping unacceptable

DA ward councillor Bernhard Wolf described the dumping as unacceptable and unprofessional. He said the contractor should be held accountable for ensuring road-building waste was properly disposed of under the law.

“If we don't hold officials or metro people responsible, how will we get anything going?”

Criminal case opened under Waste Act

Police spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg confirmed that a criminal case has been opened at Humewood police station in terms of the National Environmental Management: Waste Act fifty-nine of two thousand eight.

Municipality faces further investigations

The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality did not respond to questions on Friday. The Mandela Bay Development Agency said it was looking into the matter. The municipality is already facing two active criminal investigations over alleged sewage pollution.