Contractor washes prison blankets in sea

An East London service provider contracted to wash police prisoners’ blankets were caught washing them in the sea this week.

Ceba Mtoba, the chief director for Fisheries Compliance Enforcement at the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, witnessed the incident on Monday morning.

Mtoba, who was in town to discuss ways of curbing coastal crime, said he was driving along the Esplanade at about 9am when he saw a group of people on the rocks below a diner franchise outlet.

“Initially I thought they had a fishing net but when I got closer to investigate I realised it was blankets,” said Mtoba.

He immediately alerted Buffalo City Metro law enforcement and the provincial department of agriculture, forestry and fisheries.

Lungile Nodwala, the assistant director in the department, said he had immediately gone to the scene.

“When I got there I noticed a number of blankets were wet and some were dry.

“There was a packet of washing powder and a blue chemical in a five-litre plastic container next to two plastic basins,” he said.

Nodwala said there were four men washing the blankets, who said they were hired to do the work.

“The lady , who was crying at the time, said that she did not know that there was a problem with washing the blankets using sea water as she just saw it as water that was available at the time to complete the job.

“We found out that the blankets belonged to East London SAPS and there had been a tender that was awarded to wash prisoners’ blankets,” said Nodwala.

Zama Malula, the owner of the company contracted to wash the blankets, told the Daily Dispatch that she only arrived on the scene later and was not aware of what her employees were doing.

“I had instructed them to take the blankets to the laundry in Southernwood, but I apologise on behalf of them as they were working for me,” said Malula. She said the blankets were then taken to the laundry.

Nodwala said he had requested through the SAPS that the activity be immediately stopped “as it posed danger to sea life and might damage the ecosystem in the surrounding area”.

Provincial police spokeswoman Colonel Sibongile Soci confirmed that the SA Police Services had contracted service providers to wash the blankets.

Soci said the service providers were rotated in terms of the Public Finance Management Act.

“It is expected that the department of fisheries and environmental affairs will take the necessary steps against individuals or service providers not complying with the law,” Soci said.

“We appreciate the matter being brought to our attention and it will certainly be followed up with the service provider contracted to deliver this service to the SAPS.”

An informal car washer on the Esplanade, Sipho Mageshe, said this was not the first time he had witnessed blankets being washed in the sea.

“This is the second time I saw this happening. The first time was about two months ago,” said Mageshe.

Nodwala said the matter had been sent to the relevant departments for further investigation.

“The department views this incident as very serious, taking into account the variety of marine life in the rock pools that might be destroyed by this kind of water pollution.”