“When the City of Johannesburg launched its monthly city-wide volunteer cleaning campaign, A Re Sebetseng, on 14 August 2016, we did so with the intent of turning Johannesburg into a City that attracts investment and ensures our residents live, work and play in a healthy environment,” said City of Johannesburg Executive Mayor, councillor Herman Mashaba.
In a recent media release, Mashaba said “I am pleased to hear that seven months later, the ANC in Johannesburg has taken it upon itself to take a page out of our book and hold similar clean-ups in the City, one of which I am informed took place this past weekend. Whispers of President Cyril Ramaphosa also considering getting involved in such regular clean-ups across all municipalities in South Africa fill me with hope.”
He stated that the City of Joburg pioneered the A Re Sebetseng initiative after a delegation visited the City of Kigali in Rwanda, which is known as the “cleanest city in Africa.” Following the visit, they had to design a blue-print for how to host a monthly volunteer cleaning campaign across 135 wards in a cost-effective manner; how to easily provide the requisite cleaning materials to residents; how to ensure all refuse collected will be removed timeously following the clean-ups; and how to get our residents and all City employees involved.
“It is also imperative that people remember that A Re Sebetseng is a campaign for all. We try to keep it depoliticised, so that all our councillors and residents, no matter their political affiliation, can freely work together to achieve a common goal – that of turning Johannesburg into a clean and economically appealing city.
The City of Johannesburg is ready to share all it has learnt in order to take this initiative to new heights, including the national stage,” he said.
He continued, saying, “This coming Saturday, the Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation, Ms Pamela Tshwete, will join officials from Pikitup and Johannesburg Water for an A Re Sebetseng clean-up at the Jukskei River. We are also supporting the Deputy Minister by cleaning the river alongside her as part of National Water Week. Since the inception of A Re Sebetseng, approximately 10 000 residents have participated in cleaning campaigns across the City.”
He closed by saying, “During the past seven months, I have led clean-ups in Alexandra, Linden, the Inner City, Oberholzer Park, Noordwyk, Diepsloot, Fourways, Paulshof, Malibongwe Drive, Northriding, Florida Lake, Naledi Ext 2, Kaalfontein Ext 6, the Jozi Business Hub and Kliptown Primary School. I truly believe that A Re Sebetseng has the potential to change the face of Johannesburg and inspire the nation.”
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