The provincial evaluation panel started their assessment of the various municipal areas of the Western Cape on 2 February 2005. The first area assessed comprised the municipalities that form part of the West Coast District Municipality.

The following towns were visited on 2 and 3 February 2005:

Most of the areas visited over the abovementioned two days showed a marked improvement since the previous competition and the municipalities have shown renewed enthusiasm in trying to improve the living conditions and environmental situation for their inhabitants.

Although the drought in the area has had visible effects on the environment, there appears to be a constant drive to implement water saving methods and to provide visible campaigns relating to improved management of water resources.

Waste removal services are provided to all the towns that were visited and although sporadic incidents of illegal dumping were visible, a marked improvement in this respect was noted when compared with previous years. One area where municipalities need to keep a careful eye is the adequate management of skips within the informal areas, as some of these were seen to be overflowing with litter.

In most of the business areas, streets were generally spotless, adequate pavement bins were provided and street sweeping occurred. The schools, clinics and libraries that were seen by the panel were well maintained and even graffiti on walls was seldom seen. Sports fields in both the low-cost housing as well as the more affluent areas were generally well maintained, although in some cases the affects of the drought were noticeable.

The main problem is still the management of waste disposal facilities. Uncontrolled access, poor fencing, wind blown litter, burning of waste and a lack of adequate covering material are amongst the problems that the panel observed concerning the management of these facilities in the West Coast.

The Vredenberg landfill facility has shown the best improvement in both management practices as well as on-site operations. It should be noted that, in some cases, more than 95% of waste disposed of at these facilities is recyclable and an improvement in recycling activities would increase landfill airspace. This issue needs serious consideration at most of the towns visited, as minimal recycling programmes have been implemented in the area. An exception is the Swartland Municipality, where a fully functional Materials Recovery Facility is operational at the Highlands Landfill Site in Malmesbury, and initial separation of waste prior to haulage to Malmesbury was observed at the Mooreesburg landfill site.

The panel interviewed some of the local inhabitants in each of the areas visited and most had a positive attitude to the type and level of services that the municipalities were delivering.

The panel visited the Theewaterskloof, Witzenberg and Breede Valley municipalities on 7 and 8 February 2005, and will report on these visits shortly. Further visits to municipalities are planned for 21 to 25 February.