Major clean-up campaign being planned
The municipality is planning a major clean-up campaign by getting the community involved, but currently, the campaign is nothing more than a dumpster fire, with councillors scratching their heads over the elaborate scheme.
The entire campaign is still shrouded in secrecy, with the municipality saying the clean-up, being planned in collaboration with local businesses and residents, “has not been finalised in terms of quantification, costs, number of participants or the actual scope of the work”.
The information was supplied to a written question submitted by the DA’s Anphia Grobler, as to why ward councillors, not the solid waste council committee, had not been approached during the campaign’s planning.
According to Solid Waste, the clean-up campaign was only conceptualised in July, with the project aiming to establish sustainable solutions to illegal dumping and environmental pollution.
The department says regular clean-up campaigns conducted by the department have not been getting a lot of support from communities.
As to when the big clean-up will take place, there’s no solid answer, with the department saying briefing sessions were held at select ward committee meetings to obtain a buy-in from the town’s 29 wards.
Part of the ongoing process is identifying volunteers, which ward councillors will have to assist with.
The portfolio committee was, however, not notified of the planned campaign yet, because the project is still being planned.
The clean-up campaigns will be activated in all wards, and due to the massive scope of the project, large amounts of resources, like bags and protective equipment, need to be funded and sourced.
Equipment and materials will be supplied by the department once a full cost estimate is available.
Local businesses will, however, be asked to augment available resources.
