City’s green award baffles residents

THE eThekwini Municipality has been named as one of the greenest municipalities in South Africa. The city was announced as joint winners with the Mossel Bay Municipality in the Western Cape at the Fifth Greenest Municipality Competition (GMC) on Wednesday.

The overall winners will receive R3.5-million, with the first runner-up receiving R3-million and the second runner-up R2.5-million. The money will be given through funding of infrastructure projects aimed at the protection of the environment. The prize is tied to the implementation of waste, climate change and green economy related job creation projects.

It also focuses on sustainable development in areas such good waste management practices, efficient energy use, sustainable water use, public participation and best practice of municipal leadership.

While many have rejoiced in the news, others have questioned the veracity of the award. Durban North resident, Dale Johnson, who began the #CleanBlueLagoon initiative said he was shocked by the news.

“Congratulations to the city but I must say I’m surprised. How does our City win the greenest award when the uMgeni River mouth and some of the beaches in that vicinity are littered in piles of rubbish. The medical waste washed up on Beachwood Beach is still there because the city hasn’t cleaned-up. The residents of the city clean-up the beaches. If the City is the greenest, then come this Saturday when we hold our next clean-up, it should be spotless. We do it because nobody else will. That’s just the river mouth, the inner city is worse,” he said.

Several cleans-ups along Blue Lagoon and in the mangrove reserve itself have shown more than half of the rubbish collected was made up of plastic bottles, roll-on balls and broken bits of polystyrene.