By Thembi Siaga and Andries van Zyl
A controversial recycling plant operating from a residential property in Louis Trichardt has finally been closed by the Makhado Municipality, six years after neighbours first started complaining. The owner of the plant, a local pastor, now pleads ignorance, arguing that he had not been aware at first that what he was doing was illegal.
The recycling plant has been operating from 65 Anderson Street since 2019. The plant, Green Peace Movers Recycling, was run by Past Mbulaheni Khorombi of Hope Christian Church in Mpheni. The property concerned is zoned as Residential 1, which does not allow the owner to operate a business from it.
Although Khorombi's company is legally registered, it was operating from a residential property not zoned for business. He admitted fault but pleaded for mercy. "I didn't know it was against the law at first because I thought the stand was zoned Residential 4, and I could operate any business. The municipality warned me in 2023, and this year we even tried to close down, but I couldn't manage. I had 75 workers depending on me. Now they have nothing to eat," he said.
This past week, there was significant activity at the premises involving members of the Makhado Municipal Traffic Department as cleaning teams moved in with TLBs and dump trucks to remove all the recycling plant's rubbish from the residential site. This followed a site visit by the Makhado Municipality on 14 May this year, during which the municipality instructed Khorombi to clear the site. This did not happen, just as nothing happened when the municipality, on 28 February 2022, issued Khorombi a contravention letter to discontinue the use of the property for recycling purposes and remove all the waste materials on or before 10 March 2022. Again, Khorombi failed to comply.
So, for at least the last three and a half years, Khorombi knew he was operating his plant illegally. He now argues, however, that he was doing it for the greater good of the people he employed. With unemployment already high, some workers say they are now left hopeless.
"I've worked here for five years and I have a child in tertiary education who depends on this job," said Mboneni Makhethekhethe from Midoroni. "We're facing hunger now because the plant has closed. We used to earn R3,500 per month. If this continues, we'll be forced back onto the streets, and some of us may even steal."
However, Khorombi could not confirm whether his claimed 75 workers were "legal" employees registered with the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF). In April, he said, he tried to move the business to Mpheni, but a fire destroyed most of the materials. He added that a local chief later gave him land, but the space is already full.
"I don't blame the municipality, but they should understand that I was only trying to help people survive. If they give me a fair chance, I can bring back the jobs," he said.
But Khorombi's neighbours were not moved by his pleas for mercy towards him and his employees.
Among the neighbours the newspaper spoke to—who, for obvious safety concerns, opted to remain anonymous—said they in no way felt sorry for the pastor or his claimed 75 workers. "As a man of the cloth, he knew what he was doing was illegal. There is no excuse. To now beg for mercy and plead poverty on behalf of the people working for him does not excuse the unsightly and filthy mess we had to endure over the past years. The constant burning of materials, a rat infestation and probably also groundwater pollution were not only detrimental to everybody's health, but also dramatically affected our property values," they said. They further claimed that most of the people working for him were illegal foreigners. "They did not lose their jobs, they simply moved to a new site," they said.
Makhado municipal spokesperson Mpho Rathando confirmed that the recycling plant was closed because it was contravening several municipal by-laws and planning regulations. "The closure was authorised by the management of Makhado Municipality, in accordance with the Makhado Land Use Scheme, 2009, and the Makhado Spatial Planning and Land Development By-law, 2016. These frameworks guide all municipal land use and enforcement decisions," said Rathando.
Asked how the municipality planned to prevent future contraventions of this nature, Rathando said the municipality conducted regular site inspections to ensure compliance with land use and planning regulations. "In addition, we are committed to engaging with informal business operators to provide guidance on regulatory requirements, supporting lawful operations, and minimising disruptions to livelihoods wherever possible," he said.
* After going to press, the Makhado Municipality announced that, in addition to closing down the plant, Pastor Khorombi had also been slapped with a R733,709 fine. "This case is a textbook example of lawlessness that will not be tolerated," said Rathando.