Ward 80 councillor, Makgoba Pagadi hosted the Twice In A Month clean-up campaign on 12 September with the purpose of cleaning up around the shops on Freedom Drive in Rabie Ridge.
Community members and members of the City, Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) and Pikitup came together on the day to help.
Pagadi said the clean-up campaign was last held in 2016 when he took office as a councillor. “So today we have stakeholders such as Citizen Relationship Urban Management which comprises of all inspectors of the wards, together with the Pikitup and JRA. We also have environmental health members who will be dealing with pests and rodents.
“The aim is for all the teams or stakeholders, including me, to show up and make people aware that their environment has to be a healthy one.
“Looking back we have covered illegal dumping spots and passages in the area. Now we are targeting the shops in Rabie Ridge because I think they are the most untidy places, so we will be working on Kite Street and King Fisher among other sites as we encourage people to regularly clean up their area.”
Banele Yabo who is a Citizen Relationship and Urban Management inspector for Ward 80 explained what their part was in the initiative. “We are a department of the City of Johannesburg which deals with service delivery issues. We normally coordinate clean-ups every month or once a quarter in conjunction with the ward committees and councilors.”
The Midrand Reporter also spoke to one of the community members of Rabie Ridge, Patricia Nomvula and asked why she decided to come help out. “I love my community, my community must be clean at all times because hygiene is very important,” she said.
On the day, JRA employees came and painted road traffic markings to make them visible for motorists.