GALLERY: Community cleans up their hood

Residents and community representatives of Newclare recently met up for a public meeting and clean-up initiative at the Newclare flats, on the corner of Hamilton and Dowling streets on 10 April at 10am.

Ward 82 councillor Susan Stewart addressed community members at the public meeting and reminded them that as a community they need to ensure that their environment is kept clean and safe. She urged residents to sign a petition, calling on the City of Joburg to assume responsibility for reported and continuous maintenance problems in the area.

“The Newclare community faces several issues, including a generally unsafe and unhealthy living environment where flats are dilapidated and the exposure of electricity wires puts residents at risk,” she said.

DA representative and MP Anchen Dreyer was also present at the meeting and was very impressed with the councillor’s initiative to have the community involved in the clean-up campaign. “It is a great privilege for me to be present at this public meeting. I am very impressed with the effort that Councillor Stewart has been making in her wards. I have seen how involved she is in her community. Councillor Stewart has made sure that community concerns get reported back to the correct officials at the City Council.”

In terms of the area’s increasing safety and health issues, Dreyer was confident that Stewart would be able to bring viable and sustainable solutions to the table. “There are solutions and there are things that can be done to solve these concerns regarding the debilitation of the surrounding flats and lack of the garbage facilities, but it’s a question of political will and follow through that I am confident Councilor Stewart has in abundance,” she said.

Once the public meeting was adjourned, residents were handed black bags and gloves and a clean-up campaign was implemented where residents proceeded to clean their surrounding areas.