Jean Desfontaines has taken it upon himself to clean up the streets of a Joburg suburb which, according to him, is much closer to his heart than most other things.
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The Mauritian-born businessman, who owns an establishment in Maboneng, is putting his money where his mouth is.
After 40 years in the suburb, Desfontaines said the area and its surrounds in Joburg East are drowning in pollution.
In answer to this, the 70-year-old professional diesel pump technician started a project, Sweep a Square, to turn the urban decay around.
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He approached several businesses in the area, proposing that each small business contributes towards a levy.
This amount, Desfontaines said, goes towards paying the people he has taken off the streets to assist in the clean-up project.
On June 11 last year Desfontaines put the wheels of the self-funded clean-up campaign in motion.
He remarked that this has given him a great sense of pride and that he now believes that a cleaner, tourist-friendly, world-class city is possible.
“If the area is clean, it brings business to the area because the place looks better,” said a passionate Desfontaines. “However, as a result of not getting any help from the outside, I decided to embark on this project myself.
“In the beginning I did it on my own and after about six months, got the community involved as at least some improvement could be seen. Currently there are several businesses in the area and surrounds which contribute to a clean-up levy that has been set up.”
Moreover, with continued effort, Desfontaines is confident that the entire city of Joburg could be cleaned up.
“If everyone does a square, we can clean up the whole of Johannesburg,” he said. “The idea is to take people off the streets, give them a job and so long as it’s clean, I’ll be happy.”
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