4 000 Clean City workers report for duty

This comes after the Executive Mayor Cllr Mondli Gungubele alongside the Minister of Environmental Affairs, Edna Molewa, recently launched the eight month cleaning campaign at the Tsakane Stadium.

Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Environmental Resources Management, Cllr Ndosi Shongwe, handed the brigade their two-piece work suits, boots, face masks and brooms before work started.

She says the municipality is committed to the success of this project and to ensure that the city is cleaner and greener, adding that the only way to achieve this is through involving residents to cleanup in their own wards.

“In that way we are also creating employment opportunities and are instilling the idea of communities caring for the environment. The workers were selected from each ward with the assistance of ward councillors and over R1 million has been set aside for the project to cover the cost of uniforms, cleaning equipment to be used by the brigade and the stipends workers will receive which is a minimum of R2 000,” says Shongwe.

In ensuring that the brigades will work accordingly, project managers will also be appointed to monitor the 35 workers from each ward.

Shongwe adds that she too, will conduct surprise visits to the wards, to check on the teams’ progress.

Etwatwa resident, Happy Nkosi says that she is happy to be a part of the project, as it will not only help her to feed her family, but also help her to contribute in keeping the city clean and hygienic.

In his address to the community at the launch, Cllr Gungubele emphasised that the recruits will be shown how to turn trash into cash as they will be trained on how to recycle and further be exposed to business opportunities in the environmental, waste management and eco-business sectors.

The mayor also declared that for the next eight months, every last Friday of the month will be an Ekurhuleni Cleaning Day where communities are called to do their bit in eliminating dirt by cleaning their surrounds.