AS work commenced on Thursday with a massive clean-up of Medway Road, the coal truck issue – like the dust – remains far from settled.

Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) issued a statement on Tuesday last week, banning with immediate effect coal truck traffic via the Port of Richards Bay’s east gate entrance.

This in response to a complaint received from the director and founder of Richards Bay Clean Air Association, Sandy Camminga, which led to the revised port access notice ‘in the interest of the surrounding community and neighbouring businesses for a clean environment’. The official complaint was backed by numerous community outcries. The notice indicated that TNPA would host a collaborative four-day clean-up campaign, linked to Nelson Mandela initiatives, to cover truck cargo spillage on Medway Road, between the east gate and John Ross highway. Work began on Thursday, when over 40 personnel wearing full PPE and masks utilising a pay loader and Bobcat could be seen working at full pace throughout the morning, gathering, sweeping and bagging the coal spillage for disposal. “The closure of the east gate and cleanup of Medway Road and the surrounding environment is welcomed. However, this is a small step in addressing the cumulative impacts of dust in Richards Bay, which are not limited to coal dust,” said Camminga. While tonnes of spillage was removed over two days, the bigger picture remains unchanged, with fully-laden trucks continuing to pour into the city, wreaking havoc on infrastructure, polluting the environment, and causing traffic blockages, especially in Alton. In addition, the decision to close the port’s east gate access may have directly contributed to massive traffic congestion on Friday morning, with trucks backed for kilometres on the N2. 

Even if truck traffic ended now and coal was totally brought in by rail, it will cost millions of rands – which the city does not have – to repair roads, kerbs and other infrastructure damaged by the trucks.

Source: Zululand Observer