SCORES of Helenvale residents recently applauded the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s efforts in improving service delivery in the area following Executive Mayor, Gary van Niekerk’s pronouncement to dedicate October to improve Helenvale.
On Friday, October 11, the Mayor led a service delivery blitz in the area where a major clean-up programme and planting were conducted by the Metro in partnership with residents.
Resident, Caitlyn Rademeyer, said residents were hopeful and excited to see a holistic approach adopted in dealing with Helenvale’s challenges. “I am very happy to see they are cleaning Stanford Road. It’s good to see people coming to clean as it has been very dirty. It will now also look more beautiful. That’s how I feel,” she said.
Another resident, Santago Mutu, added that, “I feel it is a very good idea that people came to clean as the rubbish has been everywhere. It is better that the people have come to clean as it helps to keep diseases away. It is a very nice thing they did as it will now look better.”
One anonymous resident expressed hope that this initiative would mark the beginning of decreased crime rates in the area. They also mentioned how the Gelvandale March and Drill squad plays a huge role in bringing hope to the children of the Northern Areas. “Six schools from the Eastern Cape, including our very own Gelvandale High, just came back from proudly representing our province at the Western Cape Schools Marching Drill Competition. This kind of thing is crucial for our youth,” they said.
The mayor has commended the community’s involvement in the project and said the Metro was also committed to addressing the issue of high unemployment in the area by employing local residents where possible. “We are in Helenvale and we are standing on this hill that has been an eyesore for many years and that has always bothered me. This is not the first time we are attempting this clean up and just because we were not successful previously, it doesn’t mean we have to give up. Earlier this month we decided that we are going to make Helenvale our project with the limited resources available to the Municipality, during this month. The Municipality does not have the resources to do all the areas all at once, so we decided to focus on Helenvale because it faces the most challenges. It’s all about laying the foundation for now.”
“We have residents taking up the initiative to clean around where they live and we have committed to assist them, our workers are cleaning and we are hoping that this hill will remain clean. We are planting some beautiful plants but we need the communities to buy into this idea that we can clean up Helenvale and there is hope and proof that if we all do our little bit we can get it done,” the Mayor said.
Residents pledged to look after workers to ensure they are safe as they continue to work in the area.
