Cleaning up – despite pouring rain
Mayor impressed with community’s efforts
Community members came out in their numbers to participate in the third installment of the A Re Sebetseng campaign at Florida Lake – despite the cold and rainy weather.
Front: Blaise Hulley and Ziya Sulliman. Photos: Adéle Bloem
“Despite the rain and cold, today’s clean-up has been a massive success. We have had good buy-in from not just the community, but also businesses in our ward, and I am looking forward to working with all of them on a monthly basis. I am grateful to all who came out today to participate, getting soaking wet in the process.
It is heartwarming to see how many people want to help to keep Florida Lake clean,” said Ward 70 councillor, Caleb Finn.
He also thanked councillor Dave Dewes, who was responsible for the organisation of the day’s campaign.
Dave Dewes explained that the aim of the clean up was very simple, “This is the start of an initiative that I would like to see continue on a monthly basis. We want to raise awareness of what Florida Lake is all about, and restore the lake to Roodepoort’s favourite recreation destination. We also want to reinstate the non-stop 21km cycling and running events.”
The Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg (CoJ), councillor Herman Mashaba also visited the Lake, to participate in the clean-up, but because of the rain getting heavier, and the lightning, had to cancel the event, for everyone’s safety. “Unfortunately we had to cancel the clean-up event for today, but I urge residents to keep on cleaning throughout the next few weeks, until the next clean-up day, which will take place at the end of December,” he said.
He added that he was very impressed with what he had seen so far, especially the community members who come out to the events with their young children, and teach them civic duty. “These initiatives are voluntary, and I am pleased to see residents working together with the government, to keep their city clean. To become a successful nation, the community has to work with government, and that is what I want to promote with these campaigns,” the mayor said.
The mayor visits one region during each monthly clean-up campaign, and joins in on the various initiatives taking place. “I try to visit as many clean-up sites as possible, to encourage and motivate the residents. It also helps me to see the many different challenges faced by the residents, of which there are, without a doubt, many. During the first month of A Re Sebetseng, we saw 1 000 projects, the second month saw 1 250 and we are hoping to reach more than 3 000 with this month’s campaign. My aim is to be able to say, in a year from now, that the CoJ is the cleanest city in the world,” he said.
He said that he believed the campaigns were not just for cleaning, but also created the opportunity for social cohesion. “While residents are cleaning up side by side, they start talking to each other, discussing their various difficulties and challenges. During these conversations, they often come up with solutions to these challenges, and that is the ultimate goal for this type of campaign,” he concluded.
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