The civil organisation, Better Bedfordview, celebrated its first anniversary on June 5 at the Glendower Golf Club.
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The organisation’s chairperson, Marina Constas, said they need funding to keep cleaning up, restoring and maintaining the suburb.
She said the organisation is making a difference but for the initiative to be sustainable they need more residents to come on board.
About 250 residents attended the event including ward councillor Jill Humphreys.
The organisation shared that they have fixed more than 400 potholes since its inception.
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They have planted and maintained some 69 300m² of roadside gardens.
The organisation has cleaned, weeded and repaired more than 23km of pavements.
“Better Bedfordview employs 25 previously unemployed people in the organisation’s clean-up team.
“Some members of the clean-up team are funded by a business as part of its B-BBEE programme, through the Yes4Youth programme,” explained Constas.
She stressed that residents could not wait for the municipality to honour its service delivery obligations.
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“We can complain about the state of our suburb and rage against the municipality and the waste of our rates and taxes, or we can take action. We are on the ground, taking action.
“We will not let our area fall into a total, irreparable state of decay,” she stated.
She added that the organisation also provides civil oversight of the municipality, to make sure its limited resources are well used.
She said that a Better Bedfordview committee to “shadow” Ekurhuleni’s MMCs was planned.
Additionally, they plan to work with and support the municipality where possible, for the good of the area and the community.
Constas invited residents to volunteer to assist Better Bedfordview with this undertaking.
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The organisation’s director, Anjela da Silva, unveiled the organisation’s new website and Payfast payment platform.
She also shared details of the new Better Bedfordview loyalty programme.
“It will entitle contributing Better Bedfordview members to receive a loyalty card that will give them discounts at participating local businesses.
“The loyalty programme’s founding business partner and sponsor is the Tee Bar and Grill at Glendower Golf Club which will offer a discount on Better Bedfordview members’ meals.
“The recommended monthly contributions are R200 for a household and from R1 000 to R5 000 for a business, however, any donations are welcomed,” said Da Silva.
For enquiries, the organisation is reachable at https://betterbedfordview.org.za/ or email info@betterbedfordview.org.za.
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