Thabelo Makwarela who now resides in Johannesburg, turned 33 on Wednesday, May 17, and decided to plant 33 trees throughout the country with the help of his friends. His friend, Lalamani Nekomponi, planted trees at Bouganville Frailcare Centre, the Bougan Retirement Centre, and Gaza Primary School in Phalaborwa. Nekomponi told the Herald that it was an honour to contribute to the curbing of global
warming on his friend’s behalf.

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Makwarela himself celebrated by planting a tree at Vukahambe Special School in East London where he educated learners on the importance of planting trees. “I have been inspired by the national ‘ten million trees programme’ which was started by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2021.” The initiative aims to plant 10 million trees in residential areas over five years. “As a citizen, I wanted to do my part and hopefully this will inspire others to do their fair share,’’ he said.

He only plants fruit trees as he believes this will contribute to food security. Trees were also planted in Marikana in the NorthWest province, Gauteng, and other parts of Limpopo. Makwarela plans to take the initiative to other African countries too. He believes that government should make the planting of trees to be part of the constitution of the country. “Fuel and mining companies must commit themselves to planting more trees since their industries contribute massively to global warming,” he said. “Every time a new car is bought, or a child is born, a tree can be planted to celebrate,” Makwarela concluded.