Vhembe District Municipality delcares war against littering

Vhembe District Municipality has declared war against littering.

This was announced by the district executive mayor, Cllr Tshitereke Matibe, during the official handing over of 180 steel drums  that will be used as waste storage in four local municipalities.

During an event held at Tshisaulu Sports Grounds on Tuesday, the Mutale Local Municipality received 60 drums, while Musina, Makhado and Thulamela were given 40 each. According to Matibe, the district bought the dustbins to support the local municipalities to ensure that services are rendered efficiently and effectively.

He said a decision had already been taken to support local municipalities in areas such as electricity and the purchasing of graders. "This is in line with the Greenest Municipality Competition Awards, previously known as the Cleanest Town Competition, which is a national government intervention to assist in addressing some of the waste management problems in the municipalities.

"The key elements are reducing, recycling and reusing waste materials. Although the Cleanest Town Competition was fairly successful in achieving its primary objectives, there are some municipalities that are struggling to meet the requirements as a result of budget  constraints," said Matibe.

Matibe said the municipality would develop bulk waste management infrastructure and regulate, coordinate, monitor and ensure the sound management of comprehensive waste management in the district as it is expected by the legislation. He added that some of the local municipalities were still struggling to comply with the minimum requirements for waste management and lacked resources to achieve the elements of waste management.

The drums are painted green and marked Keep VDM Clean. Mutale was given more drums because it has few resources for waste management.

Matibe urged the community to make sure that their areas were clean and conducive for everyone. He said individuals were liable for the cleaning and maintenance of their yards and surroundings.

"Let's us teach each other that littering is dangerous to our communities. Such education and awareness must be cascaded to our young people at schools and other forums," said Matibe.

Date:04 July 2014

By: Ndivhuwo Musetha

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