26 Aug 2018

The South East District Council on August 23 commemorated the districts clean-up the world campaign in Mogobane.

The host, Mogobane scooped position one as the cleanest village followed by Taung and Ramotswa.

Under the cleanest ward category, Mogobane scooped first position one followed by Taung and Mothubakwane ward in Ramotswa.

Speaking at the occasion held at Dipoponere, the managing director of Simply Recycle, Mr Mehfooz Khan said waste management was problematic especially in urban areas due to the increase in population and complexities in land use which increased waste generation.

He said waste management should be given adequate planning to prevent it from causing harm to human health and the environment.

Mr Khan said a litter free environment was important for the well-being of communities.

“While some may think littering is a national or local dimension only, let me confirm to you that the accumulation of plastic waste in the world’s oceans is a clear evidence that littering is a matter of regional and global concern,” he stated.

Mr Khan advised local authorities to come up with measures to prevent littering, adding that local authorities spent a lot of  money on waste collection and management.

“The bulk of these costs can be avoided if we collectively go back to the basics of reduce, recycle and reuse our products,” he stated.

He regretted that the implementation of reduced, recycled and reuse of waste management strategy was failing due to various reason.

Mr Khan stated that one common feature of success in a functional waste management infrastructure was regular collection and changing people’s attitude and perceptions about waste.

Regarding the objective of the day, South East District Council representative, councillor Kedibonye Batlang said the event sought to raise awareness on the impending ban of plastic carrier bags.

She said it was also to increase public education support and cooperation towards improving the district’s environment and surroundings through cleanliness and waste fair competition.

Ms Batlang said the public continued to promote public awareness on community cleanliness and environmental protection.

Kgosi Nobi Moilwa of Mogobane complained about illegal dumping of waste in the village.

He said it has turned the village into a dumping site, and called on residents to be on guard so that culprits could be brought to book. ENDS