Ehlanzeni District municipality tackles Anderson Street as part of clean-up

The Ehlanzeni District Municipality’s acting executive mayor, Cllr Terrence Shabangu, has declared war on drugs and other forms of criminal activities in the notorious Anderson Street.

Shabangu made this announcement during the clean-up campaign held by the district municipality on March 12, joined by other stakeholders such as the City of Mbombela (CoM) and the Kruger Lowveld Chamber of Business and Tourism.

“We have taken a decision as the district and CoM that we have to stop infested streets. We want to declare war against Anderson Street. There are lots of drugs and criminal activities taking place there,” Shabangu said.

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He said they embarked on this campaign to keep the CBD safe and clean for residents, businesses and workers.

“We need to promote the culture of cleanness so that we can encourage business owners to stay in our city. This is because some are closing their shops and leaving due to the filthy streets and crime. The aim is not only to do this programme in town alone but also in rural areas, especially on the riverbanks, where there is a lot of illegal dumping. All the bushes next to the streets need to be cleaned in order to make it easy to spot these criminals.”

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According to the municipal manager, Dr Nontobeko Mahlalela, the campaign will be implemented for 12 months, after which an assessment will be done of all local municipalities.
“With the resources we have, we will be focusing on the streets that are problematic, and also prioritising the entrance and the exit points including the R40, N4 and the CBD areas.”