Clean-up campaign rids CBD streets of drugs, trash
Environmental MMC Obakeng Ramabodu says that they plan to conduct clean-ups every Monday across all regions.
Determined to realise his vision of a clean inner-city, Environmental MMC Obakeng Ramabodu recently led a clean-up campaign at Nelson Mandela Drive.
Ramabodu said the Andries Tatane clean-up campaign is more than sweeping the streets – it is about restoring order, ownership, and beauty to a space that belongs to the community.
In conjunction with the clean-up, Health MMC Tshegofatso Mashabela held a community-oriented substance use programme (COSUP) for the vagrants who frequent Mandela Drive.
“This programme brings much-needed services directly to the people from social development interventions and rehabilitation support to clinical care, street medicine, and HIV/TB awareness. By uniting under one banner of service, we are not only addressing immediate needs but also planting the seeds for a sustainable and dignified future for all residents,” Mashabela said.
During the programme, she said they had to call an ambulance for a young woman who was unresponsive under the bridge.
The MMC said they do not want to simply call out addicts as criminals, but to be the starting point for their rehabilitation.
“We’ve also spoken with metro police, appealing to them that when they deal with people who abuse substances, they must not harass them so they can come to us and we can offer the necessary support,” Mashabela said.
Ramabodu said that their work is not an overnight job, but their efforts were not in vain, despite what doomsayers may claim.
“There was no leadership during that time. For eight years, that leadership didn’t encourage you to do this; there was nothing we were achieving. So, we came to clean because we want you to be proud of it when you walk in these streets, and just the CBD, all the regions, from Bronkhorstspruit, Hammanskraal, all the areas must be clean. This programme will happen every Monday until we have progress,” Ramabodu said.
He said the metro will need to work with the provincial and national government to address the ongoing vagrancy issue on Bloed Street in future.
The MMC said for years on end, the street has been home to hundreds of loiterers who deal and use substances, and the metro alone doesn’t have the capacity to deal with it.
Stakeholders also took the opportunity to engage with small vendors during the programme, encouraging them to apply for permits to sell.
“When we find an honest businessperson, selling on the street, doing honest business, we don’t harass them. We give them a chance to obtain their proper documents. The Health MMC has emphasised that they must come to our offices to apply for the certificates and all the necessary documents. When we come back, and they haven’t followed what we’ve advised, that’s when we act,” Ramabodu said.
Watch here:
We want a clean and safe City of Tshwane our small business must be supported . Our health MMC will support all small businesses in the City . #EFF_in_Government pic.twitter.com/fNQQq8FxdD
— Obakeng COT MMC Environmental Agriculture . (@RamaboduObakeng) August 20, 2025
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