Residents and visitors to Germiston have seen the CBD begin to transform over the past few months.
New additions to the everyday scenery have popped up in a number of different places and include the brightly coloured and eye-catching paintings that can be seen under the Meyer Street railway bridge, and near the Germiston Theatre.
The project, which was implemented in stages by the departments of Human Settlements and Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, started in July 2018 and recently came to an end with the launch of an exciting new addition.
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“We are excited to announce the installation of Ekurhuleni’s first solar cellphone charging ‘tree’ which can be found in front of the Germiston Theatre’s main entrance,” said Refiloe Monopela from Refiloe General Supplies Arts Company, which is in charge of the artist selection and management.
The ‘tree’ was officially launched last Friday.
The ‘tree’, which is made of brightly painted guttering, aims to improve the lives of the inner city community and offers some relief from power outages and load-shedding.
“After looking at the community’s needs within Germiston we saw a need to not only enhance public spaces but to find solutions for problems faced by the residents,” said Monopela.
“Power outages and load-shedding are two of the most prominent problems faced by the community.”
The charging unit will not only provide an outdoor power source for charging cellphones and other electronic devices, in an environmentally friendly way but will also reduce the demand for electricity from other sources.
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“The charging unit will also allow the metro to conduct research on the efficiency of solar panels to be used in future projects,” said Monopela.
“As part of the ongoing urban renewal of Germiston’s inner city, the metro has included a public art component to the Germiston Urban Renewal Project.
“Public art was included in the scope of work as we believe it will return life, colour and vibrancy to the city-scape,” explained Themba Gadebe, spokesperson for the metro, last year when the project began.
Local artists James Skhosana (24) and Sazi Sithole (34) from Primrose, Nhlakanipho Madela (26) and Zanoxolo Phali (30) from Dukathole, Bongani Siyoko (23) from Wattville, Lazarous Seshane (32) and Siphiwe Tshezi (35) from Daveyton, Mxolisi Malinga (22) and Lucas Ngope (26) from Maradona informal settlement and Lunga Harmans (35) from Ramaphosa are the artists behind the project.
The artists have spent countless hours working on the murals and beautification elements that depict the history and life of Germiston, such as mining, transport, the steel industry, informal settlements and urban life.
Though the project is now completed in the Germiston’s CBD, Monopela and the team of artists plan to travel to different areas within Ekurhuleni for more beautification projects.
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