Da Rocha desperate to end illegal dumping
“Dumping creates a problem for the ward because it results in a rat infestation.”
Ward 66 Councillor Carlos Da Rocha conducted an evaluation of the ward and has since expressed his dissatisfaction about illegal dumping.
He identified other problems which included potholes that have been a problem for some time in the area.
“Dumping creates a problem for the ward because you end up getting rat infestation in the area.”
“It’s not safe for the children who play next to the dump where they can get sick,” said Da Rocha.
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In 2017, Da Rocha embarked on a clean-up campaign in the ward.
He is continuing with his clean green campaign as littering remains his main concern.
“The campaign helped to improve the ward but residents can achieve a 100 per cent clean ward. It seems like some residents think that it’s acceptable to dump rubbish on the pavements,” said Da Rocha.
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“I have seen residents walking on the streets and casually throwing a plastic bag or even several bags on the street corners as if it’s acceptable to do that.
“That is not good practice. That kind of behaviour is extremely negative to other residents who take pride in their suburb. They then clean up after these residents by picking up the bags,” said Da Rocha.
He said Pikitup improved its effort to keep the ward clean but residents need to support his efforts to keep the area clean.
“I feel that Pikitup has come a long way with service delivery but they clean today, and tomorrow you find residents dumping rubbish on just about every street corner,” he said.
In an effort to encourage residents to stop dumping, Da Rocha recently branded his minibus to remind residents that it’s important to keep their area clean.
“The branding on my car is a way to spread the message without speaking to residents as sometimes, when you talk to them, they feel like you are judging them. I hope by reading this message on my car as I make my travels through our ward, they will change and adopt an attitude of no more dumping.”
Da Rocha encouraged Ward 66 schools to educate learners about the consequences of littering and keeping their area clean.
“We need to educate each other about community pride and travel this journey together to a clean a ward,” said Da Rocha.
He thanked the residents who have been keeping the ward clean.
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