Madelakufa Section 2 in Tembisa is a community plagued by a high level of unemployment and as such many residents turn to recycling waste for their livelihood.
“However, the collection of recycling material in this community has ended up doing more harm than good by turning into illegal dumping sites,” said Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality spokesperson, Mr Themba Gadebe.
Last Friday, the City of Ekurhuleni’s Clean Neighbourhood Fridays campaign hit the streets of various informal settlements with the aim of clearing them of dirt.
“Members of the community also joined the Executive Mayor, his mayoral committee and senior officials of the City in large numbers to help clean their own living spaces by removing heaps of waste, rodents, overgrown weeds and grass, fixing leaking pipes, blocked storm water pipes and malfunctioning street lights,” he said.
Albertina Njoloza, who resides in Madelakufa and is also a member of the Clean City Brigades, spent her Friday morning encouraging her neighbours to join her in cleaning their area for their benefit.
“I love cleanliness, even though I stay in a shack I always make sure that it looks good and smells fresh. I always encourage my neighbours to keep our neighborhood clean, even the communal toilets that we use we try to keep them clean for the next person who will use it,” said Njoloza as she was busy raking dirt from the trenches.
Members of her community were so drawn to the idea of cleaning as a collective they even pledged to do it every Saturday, on their own accord.
“We will no longer wait for municipal officials to come clean for us once in a week, we can do this on our own and they can just pick up the piles of dirt we gather,” said one resident as she was sweeping the street.
Addressing the community members of Tembisa on the significance of cleanliness, Executive Mayor said, “Tembisa has no excuse for being dirty, residents here must cherish their neighborhood, this is the Township that harbors one of the City’s gems the starting point of our first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system.”
“In a few months’ time we will be back here to launch our first bus, Harambee, and it promises to draw attention to the City. Therefore, it is our responsibility to show the world that we are capable to house infrastructure that is of world class standards by keeping our neighborhoods clean,” said Clr Gungubele.
