The City of Johannesburg joined forces with the private sector to create a safe and clean environment for public transport commuters.
The Supplier Development Initiative (SDI) Force, in collaboration with the City, sanitised the Sandton Public Transport Interchange and the Pan-African Taxi Rank in Alexandra on 20 May. The waste pickers from the organisation Wastepreneurs had boots on the ground, sanitising both facilities as well as the minibus taxis.
“The most important thing is this collaborative effort between the entities because the virus does not know whether you are in the city, in a rural area, rich or poor,” said SDI Force co-founder, Brad Fisher.
MMC for Community Development Margaret Arnolds, MMC for Health and Social Development Eunice Mgcina and Region E director Liziwe Ntshinga-Makoro were in attendance to inspect the facilities before they were presented with the respective certificates of compliance.
Fisher said the certificate means the facility has been cleaned with the highest level of compliance. He added that it is, however, important to remember that there is no such thing as being 100 per cent Covid-19 free. “If there was a 10 per cent risk today before we came, all we can do is bring that below one per cent and we’ve done our job,” said Fisher.
Mgcina welcomed the work done by the SDI Force and the Wastepreneurs, noting that it was efforts like these that would strengthen the community.
“Two months ago, the mayor sent out a call to all businesses to come on board and help during this time and I must say that so far, businesses have responded in accordance. We continue to encourage the private sector and corporate South Africa to contribute and join the City in the fight against Covid-19,” she concluded.