EMM is the second greenest metro

The announcement was made by the National Department of Environmental Affairs, during the fifth Greenest Municipality Competition (GMC), held at the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality, in Mpumalanga, recently.

Ekurhuleni came second in the competition, after eThekwini Municipality, walking away with a whooping R3-million and a certificate of recognition.

The prize money will be used for projects that promote environmental-related projects and green economy initiatives.

“The metro is known to be among leaders advocating for clean and green programmes, such as the Mayoral Clean City programme and the night shift Central Business District (CBD) cleaning programmes,” said EMM spokesperson Themba Gadebe.

Clr Ndosi Shongwe, MMC for environmental development, said: “Taking position two in the competition simply means we have set the tone during the first round and many have learnt from us. We will accelerate our efforts to claim our number one spot in the competition.”

Ndosi attributed the accolade to the dedicated efforts of various departments, including waste management services, health and social services, environmental resource management, water and energy departments.

The criteria for assessment included the following:

• Good waste management, energy efficiency conservation

• Water management, landscaping, tree planting and beautification, public participation and community empowerment and schools

• Leadership and institutional arrangements and presentation

More than 100 metropolitan and local municipalities competed for the awards and the following emerged victorious:

Overall winner: eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality (R3-5m)

First runner-up: Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (R3-m)

Second runner-up: Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (R2-5m)

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