The eThekwini Municipality has urged the public who record videos of city issues to get as much details as possible and report the matter to the proper channels for intervention.
A video clip purporting that eThekwini municipal employees were dumping bags of raw sewage has gone viral on social media on Thursday.
The 59-second video, titled Irresponsible eThekwini Municipality, does not show the location of the alleged dumping; nor the date that it was recorded. It is unclear if the men seen in the video were collecting the black bags from the roadside or dumping them there.
A man speaking over the video recording said: “I just caught all these okes dumping. Honestly, it smells like sewage, smells like raw sewage.”
The video shows two men stepping over a steel roadside crash barrier. Two other men are standing next to the truck. Two of the men have blue overall jackets with the EWS logo on them. EWS is the acronym for eThekwini Water and Sanitation.
The man reverses his vehicle and while recording the video, he speaks to the driver of the truck, which has an eThekwini Municipality logo on it.
The man tells the driver that what he is doing is illegal.
The driver say: “I am going to take it.”
The man asks the driver for his name but receives no reply.
“You’re going to go on TV. You (are) iIlegally dumping. What is that, raw sewage? Where did you get that sewage?
The truck driver replies: “Coming from Canelands.”
The man says: “You don’t dump it here. This is my house. You going now because I caught you. Take your rubbish and put it back. Take it out of the bush and go. I am going to watch you... This is bull s***... This is why this country is falling apart. This is f****** unbelievable put it back.”
On Thursday, eThekwini Municipality spokesperson, Gugu Sisilana, said that city officials had not seen the video in question and were not aware of the purpose and motive behind its circulation.
IOL then shared the video clip with the municipality.
“Generally, we wish to caution against the circulation of videos on social media that are likely to cause unnecessary excitement and confusion among the public,” she said.
Sisilana said that recording and circulating a video on social media without reporting it through official channels does not assist anyone but only leads to speculative reporting.
“It must also be noted that some contractors wear municipal-branded overalls, and their trucks/vehicles bear the municipality’s logo. Therefore, without the full names and surnames of the people in the video or a vehicle registration number bearing an “NDM” number plate, it is difficult to conclude that the people seen in the alleged video are indeed staff employed by eThekwini Municipality,” she said.
The city also does not want to speculate any further about this video.
It urges residents do the following:
To report service-related concerns, residents can use the following contact details:
Water and Sanitation Issues:
Electricity Faults:
Email: [email protected]
Additionally, faults can be reported via the city’s Mobile App.
Residents must report those who illegally dump waste by calling the Cleansing and Solid Waste helpline on the following number 031 3118804 or by emailing [email protected]