Metro, Afriforum sign memo to keep residents safe
The memorandum of understanding encourages mutual support and community involvement in undertaking projects such as clean-ups, community safety initiatives and illegal dumping.
Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink and AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel signed a five-year memorandum of understanding at Furman Park in Valhalla on Monday.
The agreement encourages mutual support and community involvement in a wide range of projects in the metro.
Brink and Kriel marked the occasion by getting their hands dirty during the renovation of the park, mowing the lawn before the signing.
“On behalf of the City of Tshwane, I want to thank AfriForum for continuously supporting our city, assisting to protect our infrastructure and keeping our communities safe. This memorandum of understanding (MOU) will now formalise a valued relationship and help improve our working relations going forward,” said Brink.
The agreement is part of the metro’s whole-of-society approach, in which it seeks to work together with business, civil society and communities to improve service delivery and formalise partnerships across the city.
The memorandum marked an agreement between the metro and AfriForum regarding the protection and safeguarding of infrastructure and the environment of the city’s communities.
“The metro makes it clear in the memorandum that it welcomes the assistance of organisations like AfriForum in maintaining infrastructure, safeguarding communities and ensuring the sustainable management of the environment for future generations,” the civil rights organisation said in a statement.
“The city encourages all businesses, communities and residents to work with the metro to build a capital city we can all be proud of.”
It said the need for increasing community involvement in the maintenance and safeguarding of infrastructure and the delivery of basic municipal services has come under threat over the past couple of years due to increasing pressure.
“AfriForum and the Tshwane metro, therefore, hope to address these challenges more effectively through this memorandum.”
Services and projects under the memorandum include the promotion of community-based waste removal and clean-up, grass cutting, removal of alien plant species, identification of illegal dumpsites, community safety initiatives, increased visibility, monitoring and reporting of suspicious activities to the municipality, as well as assistance in the determent of land invasions.
Kriel said the memorandum was an important step in AfriForum’s pursuit of the devolution of power to the community and the establishment of community-based federalism.
“Organised communities that act in the interest of their own communities in fact create a new reality in which a do-it-yourself culture is not only encouraged but can also flourish.
Limited resources necessitate the optimal use of expertise and energy from within local communities for the benefit of the community.
Through this approach, communities take ownership and responsibility for their future and, as it were, fulfil the role of a de facto fourth sphere of government.
Today, AfriForum and the Tshwane metro took a giant leap into the future to involve residents of our metro in establishing a modern and successful community-based city.”
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