Although winter and spring are still at loggerheads; winter clearly wanting the last word before finally making its exit, it’s lovely to see the world coming alive again.
Not only are blossoms, flowers and bees showing off and buzzing about, humans are obviously thawing out too with far more of us out and about at our local parks and anywhere else there’s an inviting patch of green, a bit of water or a braai and picnic spot.
We’re spoilt for choice in Benoni when it comes to dams and lakes – actually, throughout Ekurhuleni.
But how inviting are these leisure spots really today?
The one thing which has never changed at any of the lakes is the hideous toilet facilities. Dodgy, to say the least. I would never let my children out of my sight to go into one of these on their own.
And then there is the “element” that gravitates towards leisure spots like these, very often to be found in and around the toilets doing weird things you really don’t want to have to see (or hear). Then, there’s also the body-in-a-suitcase situation. It really did happen at Boksburg Lake.
Just saying.
But all of that aside, we all love a picnic. One of my favourite spots is Homestead Dam, if for no other reason than to gaze jealously at those fabulous houses across the water from Wilge Road.
Homestead, as pretty as its boats and birds and banks are, is, sadly, not free of the one thing which plagues every leisure spot – well, actually it’s just a plague throughout Ekurhuleni – litter!
It would appear a tornado has pulled through Benoni and its sister cities, like Boksburg, not only the usual August winds.
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The amount of litter is plain embarrassing and this at major entrances to the region – like “that” area at the intersection of Lakefield Avenue and Atlas Road and the airport back route via Yaldwyn Road that winds past the SAA offices.
The non-existent pavements, overgrown bush and litter clinging to every scrap of fencing or clogging every stormwater drain is enough to prompt anyone to jump on the first plane out of here, let alone wanting to come and explore and experience Ekurhuleni.
Possibly the most embarrassing is the overflowing, broken Ekurhuleni bins on the sidewalks which are branded and state something along the lines of “Ekurhuleni, a cleaner greener city” … what?
The metro has been on the “cleaner, greener” bandwagon a number of times but clearly not managed to stay there.
In 2015 mayor Mondli Gungubele launched the Mayoral Clean City programme and “rejoiced and celebrated” over its success after declaring “war on waste”.
He stated at the time the success of the programme was entirely dependent on community participation – basically, residents had to get out and help the metro clean up the mess.
“A cleaner and greener Ekurhuleni begins with you” was the slogan of the day.
There are hundreds of people who willingly pick up litter wherever they move around; at the park while walking their dog or just around their home on the sidewalk.
Every little bit helps, but I think we’re beyond a little-bit-here-and-there effort.
What we need is more like an army of litter pickers mobilised not only to clean up but to educate.
The metro’s charging certain businesses and industrial areas a litter picking fee now too … so, they really can’t be picky about what gets cleaned and what doesn’t.
I wonder when last the mayor’s driven the length and breadth of Ekurhuleni.
Maybe it’s difficult to see out of those heavily tinted windows and especially at the speed at which the “blue light” brigades travel, I can imagine the outside world is but a blur to the likes of the mayor.
Time to shame? Yes, send us your photos of our “clean and green” Ekurhuleni.
The Aerotropolis, as many have said, is actually just a “trashopolis”.
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