LIMPOPO – The Greater Tzaneen Municipality (GTM) has been crowned the greenest municipality in Limpopo.

GTM received the accolade at the Limpopo Green Municipality Competition held at Meropa Casino in Polokwane on February 24.

The municipality walked away with a R250 000 prize after achieving a final score of 82.9%.

Fetakgomo Local Municipality secured second place with a score of 79.2%, earning R150 000, while Polokwane Municipality finished third with 67% and received R100 000.

The competition began last year with officials from the Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Tourism, and Environment (Ledet) assessing cleanliness and environmental management across municipalities. The contest progressed from local to district and ultimately provincial levels.

GTM Mayor Gerson Molapisane told the Herald that winning the award is both an honour and a privilege.

“This achievement stands as a testament to GTM’s ongoing commitment to restoring Greater Tzaneen to its former glory as one of the cleanest municipalities. Our continued efforts to enhance cleanliness, address unlawful activities, and promote sustainable greening initiatives are clearly yielding positive results. We remain dedicated to building on this success and will not relent in our pursuit of a cleaner, greener, and more vibrant Greater Tzaneen,” he said.

Last year, GTM finished in second place behind Polokwane. The municipality last won the award in 2019.

The mayor was accompanied at the ceremony by municipal manager Donald Mhangwani, Speaker Sannie Tiva, and other council members.