Madelakufa Section 2 in Tembisa is a community plagued by high levels of unemployment.
Because of this, many residents turn to recycling waste for their livelihood. However, the collection of recycling material in the community has ended up doing more harm than good, with some areas becoming illegal dumping sites.
Last Friday, being the last Friday of the month, the City of Ekurhuleni’s Clean Neighbourhood Fridays programme hit the streets of various informal settlements with the aim of cleaning up the areas.
Members of the community also joined the executive mayor, his mayoral committee and senior officials from the City to help clean up the area.
Heaps of waste, rodents, overgrown weeds and grass were removed, while leaking pipes, blocked storm water pipes and malfunctioning street lights were repaired.
Ms Albertina Njoloza, who resides in Madelakufa and who is also a member of the Clean City Brigade, spent her Friday morning encouraging her neighbours to join her in cleaning up the area.
“I love cleanliness. Even though I stay in a shack, I always make sure it looks good and smells fresh. I always encourage my neighbours to keep our neighbourhood clean, even the communal toilets that we use. We try to keep them clean for the next person who will use it,” said Ms Njoloza, while she was busy removing dirt from a trench.
Members of her community were so drawn to the idea of cleaning as a collective that 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 another resident who was sweeping dirt from a street.
Addressing the community members of Tembisa on the significance of cleanliness, the executive mayor of Ekurhuleni, Clr Mondli Gungubele, said Tembisa has no excuse for being dirty.
“Residents must cherish their neighbourhood. This is the township that harbours 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 of housing infrastructure that is of world class standards by keeping our neighbourhoods clean,” said Clr Gungubele.
