Concerned residents of Ward 86 in Lwandle rolled their sleeves up and cleaned up the corners of Michael and Onvernwacht streets on Saturday 15 November.
The initiative was conducted by the office of ward councillor Xolani Diniso.
He said the initiative was intended partly to educate people on the importance of maintaining a sanitary environment and allowing wanton pollution to spoil surroundings that are more natural.
Diniso said the clean-up was one of many to come. He said it is high time residents stood up and united against all the wrongdoing that was happening in the area.
“We have this problem of illegal dumping in our ward. A group of residents approached me and proposed cleaning up the corners of Michael and Overnwacht streets. This is one of the dirtiest areas in my ward. We mobilised more people and some community stakeholders to join us,” said Diniso, adding that there were more than 100 volunteers who joined the initiative. He cited they will go around the ward and clean all the dumping sites.
Diniso described illegal dumping and crime as some of the major challenges in his ward. He urged the community to take care of their area.
Resident Noludwe August described the cleaning campaign as a great initiative. She said the aim is to reclaim their streets.
“We felt we can’t fold our arms while we see our area becoming a dumping site. We are appealing to the community to stop discarding rubbish on public spaces. We need to change and take the ownership of our areas,” said August.
She urged the City to impose a stringent punishment to those found guilty of discarding rubbish in public.
