Lekwa Municipality celebrates global Handwashing Day
Executive mayor outlines the importance of having water and toilets.
The Department of Water and Sanitation in partnership with Lekwa Local Municipality, Gert Sibande District Municipality and Seriti Resources, celebrated global Handwashing Day in Standerton on Thursday, October 20.
With this campaign, the department encouraged people to wash their hands with soap.
The theme of this year’s global Handwashing Day was ‘Unite for Universal Hand Hygiene’.
Themba Khoza, spokesman of the event, said the global Handwashing Day advocates for a culture of regular handwashing as hand hygiene is everybody’s business.
“Hands are important for survival in our lives, but they can also be deadly if not taken care of,” said Khoza.
“We need to take care of our hands and ensure that they are always clean to prevent the spread of diseases.
“We must regularly wash our hands with soap and water to always keep them clean and healthy.
“Handwashing with soap and water is an easy, effective, and affordable way to prevent the spread of diseases.”
Richard Mmambo, manager of the Sanitation Unit at the Department of Water and Sanitation in Mpumalanga, outlined the purpose of celebrating global Handwashing Day and said a person’s hands are said to be the main transporters of viruses.
“It is therefore important to regularly wash hands to prevent the spread of diseases,” said Mmambo.
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“What you learn here today, take it home and share with families and friends and ensure a healthy society.”
DL Thabethe, the executive mayor of Lekwa Local Municipality, thanked the Department of Water and Sanitation for bringing the celebrations to the Lekwa area.
“Washing of hands is very important because we use our hands for a lot of things,” said Thabethe.
“Today is the day of reminding each other of the importance of washing hands.
“Today is the day of washing hands, but it does not begin there.
“For us as the municipality, we need to ensure that all people have access to water, have taps and have toilets.
“We must also ensure that no sewer runs in our streets as this spreads germs leading to diseases.
“If people do not have water, they are not able to wash their hands.
“People must have access to toilets.
“Toilets are important, besides giving people dignity, toilets also help in waste management.”
