23 Sep 2014

The Clean-up the World commemoration inspires and empowers the communities to clean up their surrounding environment.

This was revealed by the chairperson of Education, Health and Social Services Committee in the Jwaneng Town Council, Councilor Omphemetse Thojane during the Clean-up the World commemoration held in Jwaneng recently.

Ms Thojane indicated that clean up campaigns brought community groups, businesses, schools, and government departments, together to participate in a range of activities that positively improve local environments.

She said the main objective of the clean-up the world campaign was to disseminate information on the importance of a clean environment, to encourage the community to treat the environment as a worthwhile asset that must be cherished and preserved for future generations.

She stated that it was also to protect the environment from adverse pollution in accordance with the principle of sustainable development, which states that the present generation must continue to enjoy the use of the environment in such a way that it will not inconvenience the future generation.

“This is a legitimate call for each and every one of us here to love, save, conserve and protect our environment from all forms of pollution such as air, water , ground pollutions and indiscriminate littering,” she said. 

Ms Thojane urged members of the community to make it their culture to keep their surroundings clean starting from their houses, plots, streets, open spaces and public places, adding that it was their duty as a community to play an active role in keeping their environment clean and healthy.

“The clean-up the world promotes community action as the key to long term environmental change and I wish to inform you that it is your constitutional right to live in a clean and healthy environment,” she said.

The theme for this year was ‘Our Place Our Planet Our Responsibility’, which she said highlighted the positive impact each and every one of them has on their environment.

“Jwaneng town must not only be known for producing world class diamonds, but we must be known to be a cleanest town in Botswana,” she noted.

Jwaneng Town Council’s chief public health officer, Mr Desmond Tshotelo said the town used to be the cleanest in Botswana but that today, they are concerned about stagnant waters around the town.

Mr Tshotelo said the residents were putting rubbish in open spaces and in undeveloped plots around the town, adding that pit latrines which are so dirty and smelly were also a cause for concern

Some of the dustbins were very old and cannot effectively hold rubbish. 

He encouraged business people to assist the council in collecting garbage by sponsoring groups. 

However, prizes were awarded to the best cleanest wards, schools and artists who recycled garbage. 

In the modern wards category in Jwaneng, Unit 7, aka Masaasele ward, won position one for the cleanest ward and went away with P3 000, seconded by Unit 5 or Mogale with P2 000.

Traditional wards category Unit 2 (kgalagadi) won, followed by Unit 3 (Molopo); both got the same price. In primary schools, the best went to Jwana Primary School which took P1 000, while Kgalagadi Primary came second with P800.

Artists who recycled garbage, position one went to Alfred Legae, who used cattle horns to make lamps and decorations, second prize went to Mr Thuto Chepete who got P600, he makes flower pots, and thirdly, the prize went to Mathews Pretorius who obtained P400, he uses old car tyres to make cattle troughs. ENDS