City of Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba has identified the lack of relationship between the City and opposition party councillors as one of the factors that hinder the growth of initiatives such as A Re Sebetseng.
Mashaba said this during the A Re Sebetseng drive in Mayibuye on 17 May which focuses on cleaning up and keeping the environment clean.
He said littering and illegal dumping is a city-wide problem which cannot be resolved without the participation of all relevant stakeholders and residents.
“We know that it cannot happen overnight but we don’t have the support of councillors, particularly the opposition party,” said Mashaba.
“They don’t encourage their communities.
“We are here and they are not. Councillors are the ones responsible for mobilising the community to clean up but they are not.”
Furthermore, Mashaba said A Re Sebetseng should be a nation-wide campaign for it to work.
He said communities need to take ownership of their environment and health. “People need to learn to use refuse bags and keep track of the pick-up times by PikitUp.”
Other departments who participated in the drive included the Johannesburg Roads Agency who re-painted road markings, PikitUp, City Power and Environmental Health for pest control. Mashaba was also joined by MMCs and Region A Director Abigail Ndlovu.
“Some of the properties here belong to the City and we have to take ownership of them by cleaning them up and ensuring that they are always in a good state.
“It is also important that community members join hands with government and work towards a clean and healthy city,” said Ndlovu.
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