‘Take pride in your suburb’

Ward 66 councillor Carlos Da Rocha has declared war on dirt within his ward with his Clean Green campaign.

The purpose of the campaign is to enforce illegal dumping bylaws and getting the ward clean. “There is nothing uglier, in my book, than a dirty and filthy ward. I always believed that the first sign of service delivery is a clean ward. It’s something that, in my last term as a councillor, I put a lot of effort into, getting my streets clean,” Da Rocha explained.

He said Pikitup has played a big role over the years to keep the area clean and have improved their services, but the area needs more work than others. “Residents are not making it easy to keep the ward clean. Many of them have made daily dumping on street corners a norm. They don’t even put their rubbish in refuse bags but dump a pile of shopper bags,” added Da Rocha.

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He said this type of behaviour has been a problem because it defeats the efforts that have been put in place to clean up the ward. He said, “As we start the new year I’m determined to achieve what I’ve been trying to achieve in the past years. I have more cooperation from Metro police and a good ward sergeant that works with me.”

Da Rocha said people are already receiving fines for dumping on the pavements and street corners. “Fines of not less than R1 500 are being given to residents who have building rubble on the pavements and also residents that caught dumping. With the Clean Green campaign, I intend to clean my ward through community participation.

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“Residents should pay those fines, they must not think they can get away with it because they will be caught at road blocks with outstanding fines.”

He said a number of residents are supporting the campaign because they are also concerned about the deterioration of the area. “The majority of my residents absolutely hate the dumping and filth that goes with dumping because of the rats [it attracts].”

Da Rocha asked residents to report people who dump in the streets by taking the registration number of the vehicles.

“The culprits must know we are watching them day and night. Also, residents must report stolen bins by going to the police station and getting an affidavit, or open a case of theft and then apply for another bin from Pikitup,” he said.

Da Rocha urged homeowners with backroom dwellings to make arrangements for more bins. “Dumping will not be accepted. Years of trying to keep a clean, green ward eventually have to give results. It’s important for residents to pride themselves on the area they live in.”

Details: Da Rocha 083 447 3648; Pikitup 086 056 2874.