As part of his clean-up campaign, Ward 17 Clr Simon Lapping accompanied by Ward 32 Clr Marius de Vos recently descended on the Boksburg CBD to encourage business leaders to all roll up their sleeves to take back the streets.
This is part of an effort to restore the business precinct to its former glory.
The city centre remains popular with shoppers, however, over the years, some sections have degenerated into inner-city slums with overcrowded shabby and rundown structures, streets and pavements full of litter, poor lighting and broken drainage systems.
Regardless, Lapping still believes that with a working business-government partnership, the situation can be turned around.
“The objective is to foster public-private partnerships, which will see the city’s business operators team up to clean and protect the environment in their different communities.
“Creating an attractive environment will not only benefit the neighbourhood but businesses too because many customers prefer shopping in safe and clean surroundings,” said Lapping.
His proposed initiative entails businesses’ active involvement in general clean-ups, like removing litter, beautifying the neighbourhood, mowing sidewalks, fixing pavements, improving lighting and refurbishing the dilapidated structures within the precinct of their respective businesses.
During the visit, Lapping’s proposal gained buy-in from several businesses on Leeuwpoort Street, who indicated they like his ideas and were more than willing to support the initiative.
Among the major businesses visited were Boxer store, Debonairs Pizza and Trunes Motors, on Leeuwpoort Street.
During the meeting at Trunes Motors, the director Hannes Fourie pointed out his business had already taken a hands-on approach to keeping the area in their immediate vicinity clean and safe with better lighting.
“We give our immediate surroundings a regular clean-up and have even rewarded youngsters from our neighbourhood for taking part in cleaning up our street,” he said.
Lapping applauded Trunes Motors for making a difference in its vicinity and called on others to do the same.
“It’s encouraging to see that many businesses are positive about the initiative. If more business owners can also take responsibility and clean the pavements of the buildings they operate in, that would make a huge difference,” said Lapping.
Metro must come to the party
De Vos said it made him very happy to see that more businesses in the city centre were willing to adopt at least the space next to their premises and make those areas litter-free.
He, however, called upon the city’s departments to also come to the party and enhance the clean-up initiative, by collecting the garbage, emptying the municipal bins which are sometimes found filled to the brim along the streets, and dealing with those who transgress the relevant by-laws.
“People want to shop in a clean and safe environment, but most of our CBDs have gone to the dogs. I think it’s up to businesses and the government to revive the cities,” said de Vos.
De Vos pointed out that Boksburg, like many other city centres in Ekurhuleni, is hit with a high volume of filth during the day. That previously prompted the metro to introduce night shift services to deal with the CBD mess; however, workers complained that they were being targeted by muggers, resulting in that overnight shift being called off.
“The metro needs to rethink its waste management in Ekurhuleni because municipal workers do come to clean the CBDs at least twice a day. Yet it doesn’t make any difference. After they have collected the rubbish, the streets become littered again.
“Both the municipality and businesses need to find a workable solution, something that will be sustainable.
“We need more hands. We also need to start to fill the vacant posts as I understand that there are hundreds of vacancies in the Environmental Resource and Waste Management Department that have not been filled over the past five years,” said de Vos.
Great success
Lapping said he decided to take the initiative to the Boksburg CBD after it proved to be a great success in other business precincts.
He said he had already engaged with business leaders in other nearby business precincts facing similar issues to the Boksburg CBD, and the initiative proved to be a great success as many business leaders have with both hands taken the initiative to adopt the space next to their business and make them litter-free.
He said some businesses have gone the extra mile to beautify their neighbourhood, citing one example of how an illegal dump was replaced with a soccer pitch for the local community.
Others have pledged to assist to get their areas clean and safe for the benefit of both their businesses, customers and the community.
Also Read: What has become of our once prosperous Boksburg CBD?
Also Read: Boksburg CBD still a dump
