25 Aug 2015

The chief executive officer of Botswana Meat Commission (BMC), Dr Akolang Tombale says the cleanliness of the environment cannot be attained by the sole effort of one institution, but requires collaboration from all stakeholders.

Dr Tombale said this during a Clean Up the World Campaign commemoration in Gobojango hosted by the Bobirwa Sub-district recently.

He said waste was a developmental issue and an integral part of human development that becomes complex as development advances, which needed to be given the attention it deserves.

He urged the public to embrace the waste management hierarchy as a strategy for waste management and to ensure that the generation of waste was minimised, reused, recycled, treated and disposed appropriately.

By observing waste management practices, Dr Tombale said it would ensure that waste was reduced to manageable levels.

He called for talented individuals and companies to reuse and recycle waste in order to minimise the waste reaching disposal sites.

“By so doing, our disposal sites would have a longer lifespan as well as economical for government to maintain,” he said. 

The BMC CEO further said in order to achieve a clean environment, there was a need to couple it with community initiatives such as clean up campaigns.

In that way, he said the wellbeing of the people would be improved.

Dr Tombale also noted that the country’s economy was based on tourism, and that by keeping the environment clean it would attract tourists.

He also noted that a dirty environment could affect other sectors such as agriculture. He added that if human excreta was not properly disposed, livestock such as cattle could end up consuming it leading to low beef exports due to measles. “We are in an era where the world is talking with one voice on the issue of global warming which experts relate to poor waste  management practices,” he said.

The theme for the commemoration was: Our place, our  planet, our responsibility, which he said calls for all to work together to come up with initiatives  and strategies of keeping the environment clean at all times. 

Dr Tombale was pleased to note that other communities had turned waste and pollution challenges into opportunities.

At the commemoration, Lentswelemoriti was named the cleanest village in Bobirwa and was awarded P2 000, a trophy and a certificate while Mathathane and Moletemane got position two and three and were awarded P1 500 and P1 000 respectively for their efforts.

The cleanest school award went to Moletemane Primary School which went away with P1 500 and a certificate while Lentswelemoriti Primary School was awarded P1 000 and certificate for the second position. The third position went to Rasetimela Primary School in Bobonong and got way with P750 and a certificate.

There were also individual prices for recycling waste materials where winners got away with prize money and certificates in the categories of paper, tin and plastic recycling. Ends