Kenneth Gardens residents do it for Madiba

RESIDENTS got their hands dirty in honour of the call to Do it for Madiba, and gave 67 minutes of their time to clean up Kenneth Gardens.

According to PR councillor, Judy Mulqueeny, who was involved in organising the campaign, the residents were reminded that Nelson Mandela left home and family, giving 67 years of his life to struggle for freedom and to build the nation.

Some residents from Morea, Monsonia, Nerina and Phoenix Courts were up early on Saturday, 7 June, to start the clean up around their flat. This spurred on other residents at Kenneth Gardens and community-minded residents from nearby to join in.

Caroline Msibi said: “It was fun to do the clean up. It felt good to be here.”

“There have been reports about the poor conditions at Kenneth Gardens related to budgetary problems. The message of the campaign was that residents are part of the solution too! Mayor James Nxumalo has said we all have a responsibility to create a sustainable city. Working together we can build a caring and liveable Durban,” said Mulqeeny.

She said she had heard that residents from elsewhere in the ward sometimes dumped their rubbish on the outskirts of Kenneth Gardens.

“Some outsiders also come to scratch in the bins and packets looking for plastic bottles to sell, creating a mess as they do so,” she said.

Planning for the campaign included volunteers Denise Brits, Dean Burke, Caroline Msibi, Tebogo Kokota and Ben Harris, community mobiliser Sanjay Ganesh and Judy Mulqueeny, with support from the Environmental Health, Durban Solid Waste and Housing Departments of eThekwini Municipality.

“Mayor Nxumalo has initiated a city wide clean up and maintenance campaign in response to social ills and service delivery problems confronting the city. A co-ordinated approach that involves all municipal departments and other role payers such as the community, business, NGOs and the police has been planned. He said he doesn’t want eyesores or a hiding place for criminals,” said Mulqueeny.