Tourist sites in Tembisa cleaned up

VARIOUS tourist attractions in Tembisa had been cleaned by the Ekurhuleni Economic Development Tourism Department.

The department joined hands with Kempton Park Tembisa Tourism Association (KTTA), stakeholders and locals to organise this voluntary clean-up on September 15.

One of the sites cleaned was Sir Thomas Cullinan’s premises, a South African diamond magnate, where he started as a bricklayer in Tembisa. He is renowned for giving his name to the Cullinan Diamond, the largest diamond ever discovered.

He was also the owner of Premier Mine, now known as the Cullinan Mine, from which the famous gem was extracted on January 26, 1905. He also gave his name to the nearby South African town of Cullinan.

“The group then proceeded to clean the gravesite of Sir Jan George Duvenhage, a founder of borehole water in Tembisa,” said Fika Mokwana, secretary and tour ambassador: Kempton Park Tembisa Tourism Association.

“We also went to Eliliba Cemetery where our stalwarts, including Thami Mnyele, had been laid to rest and visited the site where an aircraft cargo plane crashed 45 years ago, landing on top of a couple relaxing next to a pan in Tembisa, killing the couple and the pilot.”

The tourism clean-up campaign was initiated and promoted by Mokwana.

“We want to keep our environment safe, clean, healthy and ensure sustainability and restore community pride. We thank Ekurhuleni head of department of tourism, Caiphus Netshishivhe and Paki Mathebula for the support they gave us, as well as locals, stakeholders and our tour guides Walter Msibi and Sibusiso Hlabathi, who played a big role.”

This initiative was to spread tourism awareness, promote local trade and environmental preservation, said Mokwana.