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Pollution has been a grave concern in the country. Pollution hot spots have been identified around the country. One of these is USA Distillers, an ethanol processing plant based in Big Bend. 

US Distillers Plant in Big Bend

A young man belonging to Mahlabaneni community, located approximately 5kms from the plant, Muzikayise Mamba, suffered untold illnesses from swollen hands and knees to swollen testicles after he stepped onto an open dumpsite of the company two years

ago. Operations director at USA Distillers declined knowledge of the case. In September 2002, the Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Communications took the company to court for violating the Environmental Act. The company was reported to have written a letter to the minister apologising for their pollution claiming there was an incidental spillage. The case was later struck off the court roll.

A recent visit by Yonge Nawe to Mahlabaneni community observed that environmental problems resulting from the company operations still exist. This was confirmed by the stories related by several residents of the area to the Yonge Nawe team. USA Distillers is said to have continued to dump the concentrated molasses solid waste around the community even after their act of apologising. There have also been incidents of effluent spillage into the Great Usuthu River, which killed fish. One of the residents said that there was so many dead fish along the Usuthu riverbed and that the fish "emitted a powerful stench that hung over the river for days." 

Within months the river pollution appeared to cease and the company extended their boundaries towards the community. Directly opposite a primary school and a grocery store at Mahlabaneni, a dam containing wastewater was created. When the dam was created the community was not invited to a meeting nor did any of the leaders volunteer an explanation. The dam has pipes leading from the plant connecting to it. 
 

Dam containing waste water

There are other pipes leading from the dam, connected to sprinklers spraying a yellowish fluid. The dam contains molasses-like fluid with a cloying scent. In front of this enclosure, next to the public road are signs that read "Compost/ Fertiliser Field." A private sugar cane field and a garden belonging to

Make Mamba, incidentally mother to the affected Muzikayise Mamba, were destroyed to make way for the dam. According to Make Mamba, no compensation or explanations were supplied for this loss. The sprinklers attached to the dam are on day and night, everyday. At night, they are tuned to a higher level of release and the substance they release engulfs the community in a thick yellow cloud. At first the sprinklers were erected high and later they were reduced to spray at a lower level, close to the ground. When they were high, residents said the effect was suffocating and fearing for their lives they pleaded with their leaders to talk to the management at USA Distillers to get rid of the dam. It was then that the sprinklers were lowered.

This yellow substance is affecting nearby residents. They complained that it irritates and blinds their eyes despite that the sprinklers were lowered. It also makes breathing very difficult especially at night. The people noted how the land around the dam has turned dark as though burnt and that there is the same effect on their roofs. 

The workers, including those that work in this compost site are not provided with protective gear such as masks or gloves. They only wear helmets. One recovering asthmatic worker has complained of chest problems, which he said have been exacerbated by the environment he is exposed to. Some of the children that stepped on the solid waste barefoot developed cracks and their feet turned to a strange yellow colour. The cows that drank from the polluted river also got bloated and died. When slaughtered, the livestock had yellow vital organs. 

Mahlabaneni residents continue to cry bitterly. They say they do not want the company to shut down because it provides them with jobs. However, they wish that the company could remove the dam and develop a sustainable means of dealing with its waste.