Wits marks centenary by hosting river clean-up in Thembisa

The University of Witwatersrand (Wits) hosted a campaign on July 15 at Espwetweni, Thembisa, to raise awareness to clean up the Hennops River.

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This was to also celebrate the university’s 100-year centenary.

The School of Chemistry along with the School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies and the Wits Global Change Institute conducted the campaign.

Wits communications officer Buhle Zuma said the pollution of the Hennops River and several other river basins in South Africa is due to the result of the absence of services and facilities provided to the poor communities.

“The campaign is funded by the Water Research Commission of South Africa and is part of a research project titled, A combination of chemical analysis and stakeholder engagement in solving the Hennops river pollution.”

The project is led by Prof Luke Chimuka, Prof Mulala Danny Simatele and Dr Heidi Robertson with their PhD students Lucien James and MsC student Thabiso Lesteka.

Zuma said the study will be divided into a comprehensive understanding of the level and extent of chemical and organic pollution in the Hennops River and identify ways and means of how to manage this important river basin and its catchment area by engaging the community of Esiphethweni, Thembisa and other stakeholders.

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The university partnered with a local NGO in Thembisa, Enviroare along with the Water Research Commission, ERWAT, the Department of Water and Sanitation, Green Peace, 4-room Art Gallery, SAPS-South Thembisa, community members, especially the youth from Esiphethweni, the African Union Development Agency, and the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.

Zuma said although the organisations have different mandates and functions, they were all joined by one purpose and that was to remove all solid waste and give back the rivers their life.

“Although the Hennops River itself does not run through Thembisa, it receives a large supply of its water from its upstream tributaries such as the Kaalspruit.

The Kaalspruit runs through Thembisa, an informal settlement that is plagued by waste management issues but is also too poor to initiate large-scale clean-up projects.

“Therefore, to address the pollution that the Hennops River faces, the problem has to be addressed at its source, that is, the community of Thembisa itself,” said Zuma.

“Through this clean-up initiative, people in the community will hopefully contemplate their actions before resorting to illegal dumping as a means of waste management.”

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